


Murder High

by LizzyLovesPink



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Abuse of Power, Angst, Bisexual Sayaka, Breast Play, Canon Bisexual Character, Catholic Character, Catholic Chihiro Fujisaki, Children of Characters, Cowgirl Position, Dark, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/F, F/M, Fanservice, Female Dominance, Foreshadowing, Geek Culture, Gen, Harmful Power Dynamics, Horror, I redesigned almost everyone!, I've been waiting to introduce her for a long time now!, Inspired by so many amazing rewrites!, Lesbian Touko, Let's scrub this thing clean of all the nonsense!!, Misgendering, Misogyny, Moderate Dubious Consent, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Pansexual Chihiro, Platonic Relationships, Plot Twists, Power Imbalance, Rape, Rough Sex, Sayaka Chihiro Touko and Kyoko are all LGBT!, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Indulgent, Sexual Tension, Sexuality Crisis, Splatterpunk, Stabbing, Stereotypical Gender Roles, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Toxic Masculinity, Trigger Happy Havoc rewrite, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unrequited Crush, Unsettling Gender Reveal, Vomiting, blowjob, breast pump, explicit masturbation, fear wetting, implied breastfeeding, mentioned masturbation, more like a newborn but still, original child character - Freeform, peeing, religious character, stomach flu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 117,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22438768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Hope’s Peak Academy; an invitation to attend such an elite school would normally be a dream come true, but to fifteen new students, it becomes a nightmare as they suddenly wake up locked inside. Their stuff is gone, there’s no outside communication, and worst of all their Headmaster is telling them they can only escape if someone kills another and gets away with it. Tensions and emotions run high as these young adults from different backgrounds all must work together and find a way out, but it’s not long before the body count starts piling up....can they ever see that beautiful blue sky ever again?-A rewrite of THH! It’s my most favourite game in the series but I think the creator did it dirty and didn’t give it the appreciation it needs. So I’m rewriting it! A tense horror atmosphere, POVs from nearly everyone, well-developed characters with new designs,  LGBT representation, girl power, this rewrite has it all! Get ready because your faves are all still gonna die horribly!-Pinterest aesthetic board made by me here! https://www.pinterest.com/bradyelizabeth2/murder-high-aesthetics/~MAJOR CHARACTER SPOILERS~
Relationships: Asahina Aoi & Ogami Sakura, Celestia Ludenberg/Yamada Hifumi, Fujisaki Chihiro & Owada Mondo, Fujisaki Chihiro/Celestia Ludenberg, Implied Asahina Aoi/Hagakure Yasuhiro, Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Oowada Mondo, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Celestia Ludenberg, Kirigiri Kyoko & Naegi Makoto, Kuwata Leon/Maizono Sayaka, Maizono Sayaka/Naegi Makoto, One-Sided Celestia Ludenberg/Maizono Sayaka, One-Sided Fujisaki Chihiro/Yamada Hifumi, One-Sided Fukawa Touko/Kirigiri Kyoko
Comments: 21
Kudos: 97





	1. Prologue: Opening Ceremony 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been reading a lot of really good Danganronpa rewrites lately and I decided to try my own hand at rewriting THH! I'm not sure how often updates will be because I'm working on tons of other stuff, but I was just so excited to share this first chapter with you guys!! I'm really proud of what I plan to do here and I hope you all enjoy it too! 
> 
> Also I hope you don't mind the small amount of tags; this rewrite will be very twist-heavy and I wanted to tell people what they're in for without also spoiling some major plot-twists...later on I'll add more~ 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person's POV

_**Darkness descends upon the school  
And in the soul of a certain ghoul  
Waiting for the time to strike  
‘Kill your friends, kill them all’  
That’s what was said into the mic  
Darkness swirls all around  
Not a shred of hope to be found  
Sixteen came in  
Only six left  
Blood dripping on the floor  
Are you ready to play a game of Despair?  
Ruled by a queen who gives not a care?  
It’s far too late, it has begun  
If you have hope in your heart better run  
Despair, Despair, all for Despair  
Nine all died for Despair  
Watched by a queen who gave not a care  
**_

^*^

“Red if something goes seriously wrong, blue if everything is normal...” The voice read carefully, tapping their fingers against the metal table. “But there should surely be enough room! The test subject fit just fine earlier!” They stood up and eagerly walked over to the storage units, their boots loud on the empty metal tiles. They ran their finger along the handle of the first one, counting out sixteen.

Sixteen units altogether. If everything went according to plan, those sixteen would soon be filled. And everything would go according to plan. Everything that would unfold had been literally months, almost a year, in planning. It wouldn’t do good at all to just mess up.

Sixteen units for sixteen bodies...it almost sounded like a song!

They softly hummed that to themself as they continued to read.

^*^

A pop idol tightly hugged each one of her group members, smiling at how tightly some hugged or how a few kept coming back. She smiled gratefully at the fans who had arrived to show their support to her and grabbed her backpack, promising it wouldn’t be forever; holidays were still a thing as well.

“Want me to make a quick stop?”

She shook her head at the driver and watched her house fade into a speck in the distance.

^*^

A fashionista took one final look at herself in the mirror, curling her eyelashes and rubbing some lipstick on. She frowned a bit and added just the smallest bit of foundation, just in case. It would help cover anything generally unsightly. She grabbed her own bag and started biking her way to the school. Hopefully she wouldn’t get sweaty and make her makeup run since it’d sting her eyes and she’d just have to redo it all on top of that.

^*^

A baseball star finished revving up his motorcycle, his bag all packed and his cousin watching him carefully with dry eyes. They still had a bit of red around their edges.

“Wait until you come back for the winter. I’ll have beaten the record,” She proclaimed.

“Yeah, sure. Can’t wait to see that,” He leaned back. “Next time you see me, my name will be lit up in lights,”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and waved briefly as he sped off.

^*^

A programmer finished shoving the rest of their notes and devices into a geeky backpack, blushing as they were hugged tightly by their parents. They fluffed their skirt out slightly and broke away from their grip, heading straight for the bus station. They sat near the back and glanced out the window, always minutely aware of how their skirt kept trying to ride up.

^*^

A biker finished passing the torch on, so to speak, to his most trusted right-hand to keep the gang in line while he was away at school.

“You’re a good man. You’ll do great at the school. Not much for sentimental stuff, but ya know. Your brother would’ve been proud of ya too,” He placed a hand on the biker’s shoulder, earning a subtle wince.

He then walked off, placing his hands in his pockets.

^*^

A former hall monitor; or more of a rebranded moral compass, walked sullenly to his taxi cab. His parents had said their goodbyes to him that morning, and they had said all they had needed to say during that time. All he cared about at that point was his future education. The sheer fact he was accepted into such a prestigious school was proof enough already that his hard work was paying off. Never again would people look at him in embarrassment and shame. Once he graduated, only pride would be on their faces.

^*^

A fanfic writer took the early train and ate breakfast on it, not wishing to see his parents again. He was sure they were fine folk, but he couldn’t stand to see the looks on their faces whenever they remembered he only got accepted for selling ten thousand copies of a doujin at a con. Only his sister was supportive at the time...

No. Such thoughts would end today. For such little concerns were no longer his. Starting today, he would remake himself as a new man! His future classmates would bow and tremble at just the very sound of his name! The Alpha and the Omega!

He accidentally knocked over his cup of tea.

^*^

A gambler finished scooping the last spoonful of her favourite dish into the red bowl of her cat, keeping her footsteps light. She threw the spoon into the sink and grabbed the suitcase she placed by the door, leaving for the bus station without a single sound.

The school would be a perfect place to forget about her stupid parents and completely reinvent herself. Forget about everything that had happened to her in the past; the torn clothes and cold water and even colder food and the emergency room filled with blood-because none of that mattered anymore. That was not part of her life.

She boredly played with her hair and sat near the front of the bus, pulling out a book to read.

She silently recited her name to herself in her head as she did so. She decided she quite liked the sound of it.

^*^

A martial artist carefully arranged the flowers on the nightstand, making sure she picked some cheery pastel ones to brighten the room up a bit. The two of them knew what day it was, still, she couldn’t imagine leaving him without a small bouquet to give him just a tiny bit of cheer while she was gone. He was asleep, but she still gave him a nod before she went on her way.

It wasn’t much of a surprise that she was picked, though she had still made a promise she intended to keep.

The school wasn’t far from the hospital, so she decided she’d walk. Exercise wouldn't hurt her anyway.

^*^

An author nervously mumbled to herself as she held her black briefcase in front of her, trembling. The train station was too fast and too noisy. They were all looking at her, they were all laughing at her, laughing at her because it was her first time on a train and it showed, and then she started to sweat and then they’d make fun of her general lack of cleanliness....!

Why would the school ever want a wreck like her? She wrote one best-seller and became putty in the nation’s hands. She nervously chewed on her thumbnail. Her stomach growled.

Nothing left to do but to move forward. Something inside her stirred and her hands quickly moved to her hips, her briefcase loudly clattering on the ground.

_Please no...not her, not today..._

All that was left to do was to move forward.

She grabbed her briefcase.

^*^

An heir stared carefully over at the track kept fenced-in as part of the school grounds, staying in his limo. The driver obliged the silence as he sat there and stared.

It only made sense for someone of his esteem and prestige to get an invitation. Why, not even his older sister of all people got one-

He cleared his throat. Now wasn’t the time to worry over others. He earned the right to attend as a student, and he would attend with honors. Nobody would bring him down. Nothing could stop him.

^*^

A swimmer beamed happily from the car’s backseat as she beheld the large shadow of the school that seemed to loom down on her.

“It’s huge! I’m a bit jealous,” Her younger brother gasped, making her laugh.

Maybe one day he’ll attend too; but today was all about her. She took her backpack out of the trunk and waved goodbye to her family as she ran up to the gate and they drove off. She placed a hand through the bars and gasped in surprise as they opened up easily, almost just for her.

She hoped her new classmates would be nice to her. She would be nice to them!

^*^

A fortune-teller gazed steadily at the sign hung up in front of the school. White and cheerful, in bright gold letters.

Yes, this could be just the thing he needed. Just sneak into their entrance ceremony, bring up some old documents of his, and then snap! He’d be in! Surely a school as esteemed as them wouldn’t check their files too hard right? Did it really matter as long as they had an ultimate talent?

He had that at least.

If nothing else, he at least had that.

^*^

The detective tightened her gloves, then the bow around her neck. Today would be the day. Her father had asked her personally to greet each one of her future classmates, which she reluctantly agreed to.

She was sure they were all good and kind in their own way, but most Ultimates had a history of being extremely extroverted and eccentric and she wasn’t sure she could deal with a barrage of yelling first thing that morning.

She downed the rest of her coffee and headed down to the gym to help finish the preparations for their entrance ceremony.

She wouldn’t give this up for anything.

^*^

A lucky student stood outside of the school’s gates, feeling quite dwarfed by the massive size of the school. He had no clue why he was picked to be there; well, he did technically, he had won a lottery. Even if his classmates were pleasant, there’d always still be a level of separation from him and them.

They had talents and worked tooth and claw to get to where they currently are. He had none and just got lucky.

That being said though, how many other people got to attend the school out of everyone in Japan? He truly was lucky.

His family had drove off ages ago, leaving him standing there alone. They had exchanged goodbyes as expected.

Couldn't stand there waiting forever, no matter how much a small part of him desperately wished to. He smiled, took a deep breath, pushed open the gates, and stepped forward.

^*^

And not a single one said ‘I love you’ before they left.

^*^

Celestia stared up at the giant school looming just above her, covering her in blackness. She decided she liked that look as she tightened her grip on her suitcase. To a passerby, it didn’t look overstuffed at all.

After she graduated, she would be considered set for life. The money and honors and prestige she would receive...she nearly swooned right on the sidewalk. Everything she had endured would be for that one goal. She would take the minimal amount of classes necessary, talk to no-one, and graduate after three years.

The school was in a remote enough place that she could reinvent herself if she needed to, reinvent herself completely. Everything that she had endured was no longer a thing. They never happened to her.

Once she graduated, she would be known as Celestia Ludenberg for the rest of her life.

Celestia Ludenberg. Celestia Ludenberg. Celestia Ludenberg.

She did quite enjoy saying her name to herself, it sounded regal and proper. Like a princess’-non, a queen’s.

Nothing would ever be accomplished by just standing there and gawking up at the building, so she tightened her grip on her suitcase and walked in, the clattering of wheels soon turning into a smoother ride once she entered the school’s polished tile floors.

The morning sunshine streamed through the multitude of windows, filling the room with streaks of gold and yellow. It was almost as if Celestia was gazing upon the heavens themselves; the white carved marble columns only serving to further prove her point.

The clock above a billboard read that it was five minutes to eight. So, it seemed as though she were late. Did she already miss her classmates? Even if she had, what difference did it make? Celestia Ludenberg was the type of person who was always fashionably late, emphasis on both the late and the fashion. She knew how to make an entrance.

“Pardon moi, but I am terribly afraid I am lost. Have you seen my class anywhere?” She asked sweetly to a member of the staff she saw walking by.

“Class 78? They’re finishing up breakfast,” He folded his arms over his chest and nodded his head over in the direction of the cafeteria, and Celestia tittered.

“Oh, thank you very much. I will meet their acquaintance, then,” She curtsied and picked her suitcase back up, starting to head into the cafeteria. She could hear multiple voices talking and laughing over each other, though instead of growing closer, the sounds seemed to warp and twist and drown her.

“Hm...?” She tried to take a deep breath, assuming her corset must’ve been laced too tightly again before the entire room begun to spin dizzily. She groped for the handle of her suitcase and heard it clatter loudly to the floor a distance away from her. She herself then fell next, gasping. “I cannot believe this..to fall ill on my very first day...! It is almost ridiculous!” She tried to say more, even tried to stand up, but her arms were too wobbly and her legs were too shaky so she collapsed again.

Her eyes felt heavy and with a few blinks, she closed them.

^*^

The first colour she saw through her half-closed eyelids was green. Neon, washed-out, garish green, all shining down on her like a sickly spotlight. Celestia sat up slightly and looked around, allowing herself to take a deep breath. She felt cramped suddenly. On one wall was a group of computer terminals, and on another was a magazine rack next to leather seats. A large pool table took up the center of the room, while the walls had dartboards.

“It seems I am in some sort of recreational room,” Celestia said to herself, hearing her voice bounce off the empty walls. She stood up straighter and suppressed a shiver, clearing her throat. It suddenly felt excruciatingly dry.

The lights filled the rec room, and she slowly made her way over to the door before pausing. On the edge of the pool table was a small pile of papers; one clearly scrawled on with yellow crayon. She winced in disgust and gingerly picked the papers up. The lights didn’t help; they reminded her that green was such a revolting colour, turning the yellow in a pus colour and the remainder of the room into slime, mucus, vomit.

The two papers turned out to be a brochure for the school and her old application, which she shook her head at. It was a slightly-old picture of her they had used, when she still wore her hair in pigtails using giant extensions. The brochure was the one written on, and it told her to be ready for the entrance ceremony at eight.

A glance at the clock. Eight fifteen.

Well. Celestia Ludenberg would just have to arrive fashionably-late as she always had.

Suddenly unsure, she folded the two papers up neatly and slipped them into her dress pocket before heading over to the door, sliding it open easily. Her red heels clacked loudly on the tile and she paused as she realized she heard no other noise.

Even if you were the first student in school; you wouldn’t be alone, as staff members would be around finishing last-minute preparations for the day. There’d be footsteps, papers rustling, doors closing, people talking. Clocks ticking-she couldn’t even hear that.

How curious. Maybe she was still dreaming and had entered her own wonderland of her own accord. If she had, she better pull an Alice Liddell and start walking, looking for others. Surely she couldn’t be the only person in the building, right?

She stepped down the stairs, hearing the sudden crash and clang of a large metal gate dropping behind her. She looked behind her, her features strained, and saw a giant locked gate blocking the remainder of the third-floor stairs from her. She winced.

Nowhere else to go but down.

So down she went.

=

There was a slight throbbing in her head as she carefully walked down the stairs of the school, as well as a strange stirring in her stomach that made her grab it protectively. Still no sound and not a single soul to be spotted. On the second floor, she found a library; locked, and changing rooms, also locked. On the first floor was an infirmary, which was also indeed locked. She frowned.

“I certainly hope you are skilled in medicine then, Jabberwock. What if I fall and burst my head in? Would you have the solution to such a ghastly problem?” She tittered, enjoying her fake French accent talk back to her in the empty halls. These were lit up in bright pink and yellow, like a deranged disco. Not that she would have any experience with those places, naturally! Her heels still clacked away on the empty tiles, though she paused again when she heard the rumble of lowered voices.

Ah, so it seemed she was indeed in Hope’s Peak; the designs were far too industrial and garish for her taste, but what did it matter? Their bizarre initiation ceremony would be over with soon and she could get on with classes. Breeze through the introductions. Not mention the fact she felt faint and then...fainted. Perhaps her corset was too tightly-tied.

Celestia followed the sound of the voices, figuring they belonged to her classmates. She stopped in front of a steel entryway and after raising her chin up, puffing her skirt up, and running a hand through her hair, she walked in, beholding thirteen curious eyes.

Thirteen? That seemed awfully low for a class. Perhaps some were sick or unable to attend. She felt their eyes on her as she folded her hands up in front of her and simply took her place in a far corner of the room. A few clearly sociable ones pouted and slinked away from her, while Celestia looked up at the ceiling curiously.

Video cameras and a bunch of heavy machine guns. Very ghastly indeed. She wondered if the guns were to prevent any heinous crime in the school, such as major theft or fraud or murder. She wondered if she’d ever see them used. A faint shiver ran down her spine at the thought of it, but she managed to ignore it.

Guns to prevent crimes, and video cameras to catch the criminal. Hope’s Peak was an elaborate and refined school; surely they could afford to splurge in that department. Celestia knew once she got her own castle, she’d fill it to the brim with both modern and old methods of security. One could never be too careful where money was involved after all.

She stood there and let her classmates nervously talk amongst themselves, their words not quite reaching her. As they did that, she mentally assessed each and every single one of them, her eyes slowly running up and down each distinct feature. The majority of them she had little knowledge of, and wrote their appearances off just as quickly.

There was a blond man standing next to the iron-plated doors, looking away from everyone else with his arms crossed. He wore the black formal suit of an esteemed school. Celestia carefully noted that to herself; he had potential. There was a girl wearing fancy gloves and a plain cross around her neck. Maybe she would have potential too-no. Were those braces?! No. She was out.

The room seemed to come alive with the appearance of the evidently long-awaited fifteenth student, though even Celestia leaned over slightly, feeling her own curiosity piqued.

The boy-and that was what she could comfortably refer to him as, not a man but a boy-had short brown hair and green eyes mixed with hazel. His uniform was a black blazer with the emblem of his old school worn as a pin with matching pants and shoes with a white dress shirt and grey tie. He awkwardly glanced around the room.

“Oh, he’s surprisingly well-dressed,” Celestia allowed herself to titter.

“So I guess you _are_ capable of speech,” A strawberry-blonde jabbed. “That’s good, thought this was gonna be like, some kind of fairy-tale situation,”

”What’s your name?” A perky girl with blue hair asked politely, yet still a bit familiarly.

“Naegi Makoto...I’m sorry if I ran late..I got all turned around after I woke up in a random classroom. So much for punctuality on my first day, huh?” He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

“You are absolutely correct in that regard! Tardiness will not be tolerated!” A tall and stick-straight man nodded. “Glad to see we are both on the same page!”

”Wait, go back to what he said before. Wakin’ up in a classroom? Shit, that happened to me too,” A redhead said. “Or, well, a gym, but I guess that can be counted as a class,”

“U-Umm...does a-anyone know where we are...?” The shy girl with the cross necklace spoke up. “There’s n-no way this can be Hope’s Peak...”

“Isn’t it obvious where we are? I’m pretty sure we’re actually inside the school, and this is some sort of test we have to pass! Like an escape room or something!” A man with a large set of hair explained. “First one to figure it out and get to the exit probably gets first pick of classes or something,”

”Then, why was everything locked?” A girl with a ponytail tilted her head. “Even the bathrooms were, and all the windows were boarded-up,”

Celestia subtly rolled her eyes and decided to chime in, a hand over her mouth. “Look, we can debate and look around and whatever else strikes your fancies, but the very first order of business we should conduct are introductions,” She subtly placed a hand on her back, standing up straighter. “How will we ever expect anything to be done if we don’t even know something as basic as our names?”

“Well, we already know Naegi-kun’s name!” The blue-haired girl perked up, making him blush at her sudden causality. “That’s one name out of fifteen down!”

Everyone seemed to agree with that idea, though Celestia had retreated back into her corner and folded her hands up in front of herself. She wasn’t going to actually talk to any of these people. It had been her idea, yes, but she intended for them to come to her, not the other way around. And so, she waited.

The first classmate to come to her was the blue-haired girl; no shock there. She was definitely overly-perky and happy for her own good. She wore a blue knee-length skirt with a checkered pattern and a matching vest over her white school blouse. A pink ribbon was tied tightly and neatly around her neck, and a heart-shaped pin was pinned to her chest in shades of red and blue that turned into violet. Her nails were painted the same vibrant shade of blue as her hair.She had barely-visible muscles under her clothing. “Hi, nice to meet you! I am Maizono Sayaka! I hope we can be good friends,” She bowed sweetly.

“Celestia Ludenberg.” She attempted a curtsy.

“Your name is very beautiful. Are you German?” Sayaka asked breezily, suddenly taking Celestia’s hand. “Your nails are painted a nice shade of red! So long too. Do you get them professionally done?”

Celestia immediately took her hand back and folded it up behind her back. “You are a celebrity, I assumed you would know the difference between professionally-done nails in comparison to amateur ones,” She pointed to Sayaka’s own blue nails.

“Well, Ayaka-chan, a girl in my performance group, she always painted her own nails. So I thought you’d be the same,”

There was more she wished to say, she could see it in Sayaka’s eyes, but Sayaka had to move along to give everyone else an equal chance to introduce themselves.

“Heya! Asahina Aoi is my name! But you don’t have to be a stranger when it comes to referring to me, alrighty?” This girl wore her hair in a high ponytail with a dark red blazer and a tight, short skort with knee-high socks and dark red sneakers. She wore earrings shaped like doughnuts.

Celestia dully curtsied to her, having already written her off as annoying.

“Ishimaru Kiyotaka! At your service!” He posed stiffly. He looked like a lamp.

“Celestia Ludenberg,”

”Are you a foreigner? I’ve never met someone from overseas before! This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about your country of origin!” He wore a perfectly starched white uniform with a multitude of shining badges and medals attached, all for various ranks in different academic opportunities.

“Then I am terribly sorry to disappoint you, as I was born here in Japan,” Celestia smiled sweetly. Her head was throbbing behind her eyes from his loud voice and it took all her self-control to not grimace. “However, I am German on my mother’s side and French on my father’s side. I would be honored to tell you as much as I can,”

“They must’ve blessed you with a name that combines the glory of both of their homelands! We can discuss this later though!” Kiyotaka walked off, and the moment he did, Celestia’s smile melted from her face.

Loud and annoying.

“Hiya! Enoshima Junko! Pleasure to meet you!” The pigtailed strawberry blonde came up next, flashing a peace-sign. “Hey, your clothes are totes cute. I’d love to borrow them,”

“I am afraid I don’t just lend them out to anyone,” She boredly played with her hair.

“Well, maybe I could become one of those lucky few,” She looked like a typical kogal-gyaru with an extremely short red skirt, a baggy white school sweater and blouse, a red checkered scarf, along with white baggy legwarmers and matching penny loafers. She also had cute bows in her hair and red nails; underneath her made-up eyes were glittering stick-on jewels in various shades. Much like Sayaka, she was muscular, though it was more noticeable. She also had a faint tan to her skin.

“Oowada Mondo,” One of the taller guys in the class walked over to her, awkwardly trying to hold out a hand before quickly taking it back. “Shit, uh, I’m terrible at introducing myself to chicks. I swear it’s got nothin’ to do with ya personally,”

Celestia nodded, giving him a sweet smile. The first person who actually told her the truth so far. He had a retro appearance with baggy pants, a large pompadour, and a giant leather jacket. Around his mouth was a white surgical mask.

“It’s very nice t-to meet y-you..um...I-I’m Fujisaki Chihiro...please take care of me,” She gave a shy bow, her voice barely above a whisper. She wore an embroidered blouse with brown suspenders and matching skirt, white tights, Mary-Janes, lacy white gloves, a large green bow on the side of her hair, and a small cross necklace. Her open mouth revealed green-and-pink braces.

Celestia was intrigued by the gloves and necklace, but the overall appearance turned her away. Once more, she just gave a slow curtsy.

“Um..I like your hair. It suits you...um...I-I like girls with longer hair, but...some girls look good with short hair. Right?” She stammered nervously.

“Oui, though it seems as though most girls here do not give a care about the state of theirs. How frightful,” She sighed dramatically.

“S-Some look nice...um...” She dashed off.

“Well, I’m Hagakure Yasuhiro, nice to meet you!” He offered her a polite wave, but she tittered a bit. Then she begun giggling. “Something on my face, dudette?” He had a large springy Afro and wore long green robes patterned with brown and matching zori.

“You have quite an...unfortunate name,” Celestia managed after calming herself down. Her voice came out as sounding strained to her ears. “I almost pity you over it, really,”

”Really? I actually like my name. Sure, it may not have the coolest meaning, but not all names gotta, you know?”

“Names are a representation of a person’s entire worth. If they just so happen to be born with a ridiculous or ill-fitting one, they must carry that for the rest of their lives,” Celestia finally looked away, grimacing.

She was so sure, so positive that her old name would not bother her anymore. Now she was to share a class with a lousy shaman-wannabe who had it as his first, and dared to say he liked it, even?!

“Oogami Sakura. I appreciate thee coming up with the introduction idea. Learning one’s name is one of the very first steps to gaining a friend for life,” Sakura’s hair was tied up into a tight ponytail and she wore a loose martial arts outfit with a black belt. To Celestia’s interest, the outfit was tinted a light pink. Also, was it really going to be expected for all of her female classmates to have muscles? They were very unsightly for a lady.

“I agree. There should be no lies told between anyone in this class,” Celestia smiled to herself as she watched Sakura walk away.

“Yo! The name's Kuwata Leon, great meeting you!” The redhead introduced himself, grinning. He wore a baseball jersey with random punk rock motifs scattered about.

Celestia waited to see if he had anything more to say, but he evidently did not, as he walked off to see someone else.

“Oh my...is the lace on your gown handcrafted?” A voice reached her ears, and she started to turn around.

“Pardon m-“

The voice belonged to an obvious fat fool with small legs, his jacket and backpack both looked ready to explode from the amount of fandom pins he had stuck to them. “Was that rude?! I didn’t mean for it to be! Your costume is just so intricately designed-“

”Because it is not a costume,” Celestia gave him a sweet smile, digging her nails into the sides of her dress. “It is an actual gown for me to wear, as my family has a lot of money. It is actually quite insulting to my heritage to even suggest such a thing,”

”I’m terribly sorry!” He looked ready to weep. “Yamada Hifumi promises that he’ll make this right. He didn’t want to offend someone like-minded!”

“Like-minded?” She felt something inside her nearly rip. “Please never make such a disgusting accusation again. I am leagues and leagues far away from you, from anyone in this class almost.” She took a deep breath to compose herself and ran a hand through her hair as Hifumi walked away with his head down.

Only four more people left. Fantastic. She could get through this.

“Fukawa Touko,” The next girl said bluntly, not even looking at Celestia. She wore a typical dark purple uniform to match her long braided hair. “N-Not that it matters much..y-you won’t remember,”

 _You are absolutely correct about that,_ Celestia thought to herself.

“Togami Byakuya,” Much like Touko, he didn’t look at her either, but where Touko was slumped-over and cowardly, he was rigid and proud.

“A pleasure,” She held out her hand. “You have such a formal way of speaking,”

“Certainly not by my choice,” Was all he said. She slowly let her hand fall to her waist.

The second-to-last student wore her long violet hair in a tight braid with a black bow at the end to match her leather jacket and gloves. She wore a grey tie around her neck and sturdy black shoes along with suit pants.

“Kirigiri...Kyoko,” She almost hesitated before walking off.

“And you already know me!” Makoto chuckled.

“Indeed I do. Well, I am Celestia Ludenberg.” She offered him a curtsy.

“Whoa, is that actually your name? Or is it like a stage-name?”

“It’s real,” She insisted with a sweet smile. Her sides were starting to hurt.

“But you’re Japanese, right?”

”I was indeed born here, that is correct,”

”I saw some pictures of you on the gossip forum I read before I came here. I don’t know how old they were, but you had long pigtails in them,” Makoto continued. “But now you wear your hair short,”

”Indeed I do. I just felt as though it were time for a change. I’m thinking of growing it out naturally this time around,” She tapped one of her golden earrings.

“You were one they talked about a lot, actually. You are well-known in the underground gambling world, but still manage to attract a lot of fans in the light!”

”Oh? How much did they say about me?” She feigned curiosity, blinking back the sudden images of the bloody hospital bed.

_Don't think about the blood, don’t think about the redness or the irony smell, don’t think about the doctor’s apologies and your dumb parents crying over something that was their fault-_

“Celes-san?” Makoto placed a hand on her shoulder, making her freeze. “Are you okay? You looked tense,”

”Oui. I am perfectly alright,” She brushed him off. She thought back to what she told Sakura just a few moments ago and smiled to herself.

_There indeed should be no lies between the class...but I was lying about that. Why would I be crowned queen if I hadn’t been? This seems like a nice place to reign over as well._

Her smile contained sweetness and pride all at once.

^*^

Once the introductions were all over and done with, everyone started to make plans again when a loud screeching noise came over the speakers, amplified to the tenth degree.

“Ack! What’s that terrible sound?!” Aoi cried, covering her ears.

“It sounds like nails on a chalkboard!” Hifumi was nearly to his knees from the pressure.

”It’s..microphone feedback!” Sayaka announced, clutching her stomach as the noise finally whined and died down. Her stomach was churning from the noise as well, but she kept her chin up. It was only some bad feedback likely being played on old speakers. It was something familiar to her.

“I was just trying to do a check of the school’s broadcast system, you know? Some of this stuff is ancient!” A disembodied voice filled the room, making everyone freeze.

“And just who the hell are you?!” Mondo demanded.

“If you wanted to test the system, you could have done so without making several of us deaf,” Kyoko jabbed.

“I understand you all have some questions. I have some answers. Come down to the gymnasium! It’s time for your opening ceremony! Come one, come all! To the gym!” The microphone then clicked off.

“I-I don’t think we should go...w-what if they’re the one who k-kidnapped us...?” Chihiro trembled in fright.

“And what if this is truly just one elaborate prank?” Celestia asked. “Or a test of some sort? We cannot just hide away in here forever,”

Everyone then looked to Sayaka, making her jump a bit. They were really going to make her their de facto leader? Well, it made sense in a way. She was an idol; they probably all looked up to her in one way or another. She was friendly and approachable. Did that make her leader material though?

“I think we should go over what happened to us before we all arrived here at the entrance hall. Try to find some common ground. Then we can go to the gym,” Sayaka finally decided, and the remainder of the class nodded and moved in closer to her. She could feel every eye on her, focusing on a different aspect. Her long blue hair. Her natural eyelashes. The slight pinkish tint to her cheeks. The large curve of her breasts. The succulent shape of her hips. Her ever-present smell of cherry blossoms.

“I woke up in a classroom. The music room,” She began slowly. “When I came to my senses, I found a drawn-on brochure of the school alongside my old application,” She then pulled it out of her pocket slightly, showing it off.

“Same here, except I woke up in a debate class,” Makoto nodded.

“So we all woke up in classes related to our talents? Because I woke up next to the pool,” Aoi tilted her head. “But what’s the pattern?”

”Does there gotta be any kind of logic to it? We woke up in classrooms and now we’re stuck here. That’s all that I care about,” Mondo grumbled.

Sayaka sighed a bit. “Anything else we should discuss before we head out?” She stared at each one of their faces as they shook their heads, trying to figure out what they were thinking. She was quite good at that; sometimes she even predicted what one was going to say before they said it! She jokingly called herself an ‘Esper’ growing up.

“After we deal with whoever this is, I’m starving. You wanna grab a bite to eat with me?” Leon asked Sayaka coyly, a hand on her waist. She smiled at him softly.

“I can’t believe you have an appetite in a situation like this,” She took his hand and held it instead.

“What can I say babe? My stomach is used to post-game celebrations. But I wouldn’t mind sampling a different sort of flare,” He ran his hands through her hair, gently pulling them all back.

“I completely understand what you mean,” She said instantly, staring at Celestia. Her cheeks felt warm.

The group remained close together as they walked through the hallways, some huddling closer to another. The hallways were barely-lit and tilted at an angle; what lights there were were just multicolored spotlights on their last ounce of battery power.

“How are we supposed to find the gym? Does anyone here have even an inkling of an idea of where they’re going?” Byakuya broke away from the group, adjusting his glasses.

“There were some signs placed around the area, I saw them. They were drawn on with a crayon, but still readable,” Kyoko chimed in. “I assumed everyone was just following that,”

“Hey, the bathrooms are still locked! What gives?!” Aoi demanded, jiggling the lock on a pink door.

“Maybe it’s only the girls’ that are locked?” Yasuhiro suggested.

“Why would they only lock one and not the other?”

“Maybe because there’s more of us than there are of you?”

”Like, that’s totally unfair! Isn’t that discrimination? Isn’t that illegal in America or where-ever?!” Junko griped.

“I was just kidding,” Yasuhiro sighed, putting his hands up. He left the group and tried the blue door, feeling it jiggle. “Yup, locked too,”

”Maybe the person in the gym has the keys for everything!” Sayaka suggested hopefully. “Maybe this really is like a scavenger hunt or something!”

One of the lights above her suddenly sputtered out loudly, dying before spraying sparks everywhere. Sayaka gasped and dived out of the way.

“This is the esteemed Hope’s Peak? It’s falling apart at the seams,” Byakuya started to walk off again. “I think I’ll just go to the gym myself and give the person in charge a piece of my mind.”

“But Togami-san, I believe the implication was for all of us to go to the gymnasium, not just you,” Celestia smiled sweetly.

“She is correct. We do not know anything about the person or people who did this to us. We are not even sure if this is truly Hope’s Peak Academy that we reside in currently. The best thing for us right now would be to just follow orders, as much as we don’t wish to,” Sakura nodded.

Byakuya stared levelly at Celestia before continuing to walk off. The remainder of the group followed after him, going their own separate paces and starting to break off into smaller groups of three and four.

“...Y-You know...uh...m-my stuff was missing when I woke up...” Chihiro was whispering again as she played with her cross necklace. “My backpack and PDA...”

”Yeah, like, my phone was missing too! What kinda sick joke is this?!” Junko huffed.

“My backpack was gone too!” Sayaka added, pouting. It was an adorable white thing one of her fans bought for her upon hearing she would be attending Hope’s Peak. She decorated it with charms and buttons she found to be equally cute. She ran a hand down her chest; a small pink heart patch was all that remained of that as well as her bisexual pride pin.

Why would their stuff be missing? Actually, who would take their stuff? It was nothing of value at least in her case, just school supplies. Was it to jerk off to? She had experience with those sorts of people. Was it to sell online? Simply upset an Ultimate?

Sayaka rubbed at her eyes. The sooner they approached the gym, the better. Perhaps then they could finally put the whole mess behind them.

=

The room outside the gym was decorated with all kinds of trophies and medals, and there was a storage room across from the display case filled with sports equipment. Sayaka took a moment to glance around, feeling chilly suddenly. Her eyes blinked a few times to readjust to the bright white lights after wandering the dark for...how long?

It was around seven thirty when she woke up...she glanced up at the clock. Eight fifteen.

“Let’s go in there together,” Leon suggested. “Power in duos, and all that.”

Sayaka managed to shrug him off and hurried inside, looking around again.

It certainly looked like an ordinary opening ceremony, with a wooden podium set out in front of the room with red and gold banners hanging up everywhere.

_The school colours are so unique! Purple...black...white...!_

She shook her head at the sudden thought. The school had red and gold colours; otherwise, why all of the miscoloured banners and decorations at the opening ceremony?

The remainder of the gym floor was empty, so Sayaka just remained standing where she was, near the front, hearing the remainder of her classmates file in.

Once everyone was in, the doors suddenly shut by themselves and a buzzing noise was audible through the speakers for a few seconds.

”Welcome to Hope’s Peak Academy, you are the shining light of this world, a beacon of hope to shine on for a new generation, you all were invited to come here out of the goodness of our hearts to strengthen both your talents and your bonds...” A voice droned on through the speakers. Sayaka looked around the room and saw absolutely nobody.

“Huh? Where’s the person giving the speech?” Aoi wondered.

“Yeah, this disembodied voice is freaking me out!” Yasuhiro agreed.

“Patience, you snot-nosed brats.” Despite the flat tone, Sayaka could tell the mysterious speaker was scowling then. “I hope it won’t be seen as an inconvenience to any of you, but I’m quite shy in public. I’m not quite ready to show myself yet. But you guys understand. It’s like those days where you want to wear something that looks good on you, but you know people will laugh at you if you wear it. So you wear a big ugly sweatshirt instead. Then nobody can laugh at you. That’s me at the moment. I still need to collect my...bearings, shall we say?”

”Cut this shit out!” Mondo demanded. “Either show yourself or start answering our questions!”

“Yes, you’ve all got plenty of questions. I can see it in your eyes. Let’s get the most pressing one out of the way first. There is no way out. You are locked in here forever and forever in here you shall remain, living a peaceful communal lifestyle!” The voice continued.

The whole gymnasium erupted in anger and disgust and fear.

“Like, you’re totes kidding. Right? There’s no way I could live out the rest of my life in a place like this! No way!” Junko huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

“The sheer thought that any of us would willingly do that, when we all have our own responsibilities...no!” Kiyotaka shook his head.

“Just admit you kidnapped us or whatever and save the charades, dude,” Yasuhiro suggested.

Chihiro was just crying quietly, her hands clasped around her necklace. Sayaka tried to look back and give her a sad smile but she wasn’t sure she even saw it.

“Nobody will come to your rescue...nobody even knows you’re here,” The voice continued.

“Now that is a definite lie,” Kyoko said. “You cannot expect to kidnap a bunch of Ultimates and hold them against their will in a random building,”

“Random building?” Then the voice started to giggle; a mad, sadistic sort of low giggling. Sayaka felt shivers go down her spine and goosebumps break out everywhere just hearing it over the speakers. “Haven’t you bright young minds figured it out yet? You’re all in Hope’s Peak Academy already!”

“Impossible...!” Byakuya adjusted his glasses.

“This is a wonderful chance to reinvent yourselves though. Become a new person. That world was ugly anyway,” The voice sighed. “Such troublesome people, teenagers are..”

”I told you to cut this shit out once, and I’m not about to do it again!” Mondo cracked his knuckles and jumped on the stage, looking around.

”Oowada-san?!” Sayaka blinked several times. “I don’t think that’s a good idea-“

”Some of you may be perfectly content with livin’ here forever, but I’m not. I got actual shit to deal with on the outside. So show yourself! Come on out! Take me on like a real man!” He tipped the podium over, revealing it was empty, aside from being lined with a simple white sheet of paper.

“Huh...?” Sayaka stared at it curiously, hearing a high-pitched buzzing noise; different from the microphones.

“It’s a bomb.” Kyoko realized. “It’s a bomb. Oowada-san-!” She rushed at him and managed to grab him out of the way before the bomb exploded in a loud shower of wood splinters and black smoke. Everyone scattered to different parts of the gym, coughing. The splinters were thankfully confined to the front of the room.

“Take that as a warning from me! I’m not going to go easy on the next child who disobeys!” The voice scolded. Sayaka remained huddled up in her corner, shaking from the ringing in her ears.

“A warning from who? What is your name, exactly?” Sakura asked.

“You may refer to me as Monokuma.” The voice was silent for a while.

“M-Monokuma? But..t-that’s a cute name...why are you n-named that...?” Chihiro was shaking like a leaf on a branch.

“I still reject this offer. I am also not willing to spend the rest of my life confined in some dusty school,” Celestia stood up, dusting the dirt off her skirt.

“Well, there’s one way to get out. A very simple way. Your eyes are all big and wide now, wondering what it is.” Monokuma talked slowly, drinking in every word he was saying.

Finally:

“If you wish to leave, you must kill someone.”

The room was stunned into silence. Sayaka herself was silent, her eyes wide.

Kill someone. Kill someone to leave the school.

She would never, she _could_ never!

She heard a few scattered tears from her classmates and touched her then-warm face. Her hand came back wet.

“Well, I guess that’s all you need to know. Question time is over! If you need a run-down of the school rules...no sleeping anywhere that’s not your room, you may explore the school as much as you like, things you’d expect in a normal school. Goodnight!”

“Wait-“ Kyoko called out, but the voice was silent. All of the lights in the gym turned off, making a shiver run down Sayaka’s back again. She found herself trying to hug herself for comfort.

“How about we try exploring the school?” Makoto suggested lamely. “We'll need to find out where things are like bedrooms and a place to eat and stuff...”

“Yeah!” Sayaka forced a smile onto her face and bounced right over. “We could split up into groups or do partners or something!”

“I second this. There’s bound to be all kinds of clues hidden around to explain why we're in this situation.” Kyoko walked over. “Plus, Naegi-san is also right. We can’t sleep anywhere but our rooms, so we best find them now. Same with a mess hall and a shower room,”

”How will we split the groups up though?” Hifumi asked.

Kyoko thought about it, looking around the room. “Whoever you are standing next to is your partner,” She then left without another word, not hearing the remaining students erupt into arguments as a result of her decision.


	2. Prologue: Opening Ceremony 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students all split up to explore the school. Leon and Chihiro and Aoi and Sakura and their discoveries are centered on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leon just being Leon 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

^*^

”Man, I was hoping I’d get that hot chick Maizono-chan, not you,” Leon sighed a bit as he and Chihiro wandered through the neon blue halls. “I mean, you’re cute too, you got that whole ‘innocent schoolgirl’ look going on, but I dunno. It’s obvious she’s into me.”

”H-How can you tell?” Chihiro asked shyly, staring up at him with her large hazel eyes.

”I just can. She didn’t flinch or pull her hand away when I was touching her earlier. That’s how I know,” He smirked. “But I don’t just have my sights set on her. You also could be a worthy candidate,”

Chihiro flinched at that. “N-No thank you...u-um...”

“What, are you saving yourself for marriage or whatever?”

A nod.

“But that’s just for the pussy, right? You could still give me a handy,” Leon grinned. “A chick like you needs some experience in her life, and I’ll be glad to provide that,”

”I-I think I’m fine...” Chihiro was still trembling. “This hallway is really spooky...w-what if the school is haunted?” She moved a bit closer to Leon, making him smirk.

Poor girl, she was clearly scared out of her mind! He pulled her closer; feeling her tense in his arms but not fight it.

“Hope we find our dorms soon. I’m in need of a power nap and a bed would be the best place for that,” He ran his other hand through his hair.

“Y-Yeah...I’m actually r-really hungry....” She admitted softly.

They walked past a set of bathrooms and Leon quickly tried both before groaning.

“Shit, looks like they’re still locked. I also gotta piss something fierce,”

“M-Maybe our bedrooms have bathrooms?” Chihiro offered, fingering the cross necklace around her neck. “Some boarding schools d-do that, and H-Hope’s Peak seems like it has t-the money...”

“God, I hope so,” He walked off, catching Chihiro’s shocked expression at him. “What?”

She looked away.

“Oh man, I get it now. You’re one of those super conservative Catholics, aren’t you? I dated one once. Or tried to. She lectured me on every single thing that I did. Even took me to church with her, that was a disaster,”

“There is nothing wrong with living a-a Godly life...!” She trailed off.

The hallway turned to a stark red that made her shiver.

“I-It kinda looks like blood...” She whispered.

“Looks more like a raw steak. Blood is lighter than this, usually,” Leon shook his head. He saw the long line of doors and ran over to one, noticing it had his face on it. “Hey, I think I found our dorms! He pulled open the door and stepped inside, Chihiro right behind him.

The room was plain and bare, with a large blue bed at the center. Chihiro walked over to the desk, where a carved key that said ‘Kuwata L.’ was placed alongside a blank red notebook. There was also a shiny silver tablet that was small. Curious, she turned it on.

”Watcha find?” Leon walked over, and she handed it to him.

“E-Handbook. It has your information and the r-rules and a m-map of the school,” She clasped her hands together. “I-I think it belongs to Monokuma, w-which is disappointing...I’d love to take it apart and see what it’s made out of,”

“Oh yeah, you work with computers and stuff like that,” Leon slipped the tablet into his pocket. “My bathroom door doesn’t lock, but at least I’ve got one. Speaking of which...” He wandered back in and just left the door open, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his fly. He adjusted his aim and began pissing into the toilet, glancing back at Chihiro, who was standing there with an awkward look plastered on her face.

“Um...”

”I bet you haven’t seen one of these before, huh? I don’t mind giving you a bit of a show,” He winked and stepped back some, amplifying the sound.

“I-It’s not that...u-um...s-shouldn’t you close the door..?” Chihiro gave him an awkward smile. “You probably w-want privacy...”

”What’s the point if the doors don’t even lock?” He finished and shook himself off, flushing the toilet and buckling his belt. He zipped up as well and saw Chihiro opening a drawer in his desk, her eyes trained on something. “Whatcha find, cutie?” He gave her a teasing grin as he suddenly slapped her butt, making her gasp in surprise.

“T-This,” She handed him a note that said all boys had toolkits and all girls had sewing kits that were both designed for murder. Also inside was a blue toolbox filled to the brim with various objects, all wrapped-up.

“Damn, so that whole thing about murdering people is real,” He sighed. “One thing’s for sure, you won’t see me caving. I’ve heard jail isn’t a pleasant place to be,” He closed the drawer for Chihiro and looked around. “That said, this room could use some personality. You think we’re at least allowed to do that?”

”I-It’s not in the rules, so I assume so,” Chihiro shrugged. She awkwardly played with the ends of her skirt.

“We found mine, now let’s go find yours. I wanna know what the chicks’ rooms look like,”

Chihiro tapped on her braces awkwardly as she walked away, going further down the hall until she spotted her own and pulled the door open.

“Guess they have the same size,” Leon walked over to the desk and pulled open the drawer, finding a wrapped-up toolbox inside as well. “Wait, didn’t that note say all of the girls got sewing kits? But you have a toolbox,”

Chihiro flinched and tried to fold into herself. “It must’ve h-happened again...m-my name is gender-neutral so t-they must’ve mixed up somewhere and I got a boys’ dorm by m-mistake,” She laughed awkwardly. “I-I’m quite boyish though, s-so I don’t mind. I don’t think I’d have m-much use for a sewing kit...ah,” She bent over her desk and turned on her own E-Handbook, making her dress ride up slightly. Leon’s eyes trailed up those white tights and thin legs all the way up to her hips and flouncy brown skirt. What kind of panties did she wear? Probably something prudish and old-fashioned, like baggy bloomers or boy-shorts. That’s what that other Christian girl wore constantly along with a sports bra. Was it too much to ask for letting your curves breathe a little?!

“How’s it going in here?” A voice reached his ears, and he turned to see that shaman guy and the hot fashion model standing in the doorway. Yasuhiro and Junko.

“I mean, we found our rooms, does that count for anything?” Leon asked, walking over to them.

“We did too! We also discovered the walls were all soundproof, thanks to Enoshima-chi here. She started throwing stuff at the wall to check,” Yasuhiro explained.

“S-So nobody could hear us scream...” Chihiro whispered. “Then this place pretty m-much is a-a prison...”

“Look on the bright side! People won’t be able to hear ya makin’ out with your boyfriend either!” Leon teased, putting a hand on Junko’s waist. She eyed him carefully.

“Like, what now? We never agreed on a meet-up place or anything,” She realized.

“Look around the school some more?” Yasuhiro suggested, but Leon cut him off with a yawn.

“You can, but I’m going to take a much-needed nap. If Maizono-chan needs me for anything, just come get me,” He waved to them before heading off to his own dorm.

Junko scoffed. “How’d a lazy guy like him ever succeed in sports?!”

“H-He’s very self-assured,” Chihiro smiled a bit. “S-Sometimes that’s all you need to be successful in life,”

^*^

Aoi and Sakura were paired together, something both girls were very pleased with. Being two of the more athletic people in the group, they decided to see if there was any way to tear down the steel plates covering the windows.

Sakura stood straightly and started trying to unscrew the tightly-wound screws on the window, grunting slightly. She finally put her hand down.

“No luck, huh?” Aoi sighed when she saw Sakura shake her head.

“But we should not fret. It is obvious there are other floors above us. Perhaps in time they’ll unlock and offer us a way out,” Sakura tried to put a hand on Aoi’s shoulder, but she shook her head.

“If not even you can open it...” She trailed off and slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “I’m usually perkier than this, but...everything is just really trying. I want to go to bed...” She wished Sakura didn’t have to see her like this; all defeated. She wished nobody had to see her like that. Aoi Asahina was not a person who felt absolutely saddened and hopeless very often.

“Stay strong, Asahina-chan. That’s all one can do,”

Aoi nodded in agreement as Mondo walked over to them. “You chicks couldn’t get the windows open either?” He rubbed the back of his head when they shook theirs. “Neither could I. Guess that means they’re really sealed-up tight. Couldn’t even open up the gate,”

“Has thou discovered anything else of importance?” Sakura asked calmly.

“Nah, not really. I’ve searched everywhere I could but had no clue on what to do next, so I just walked ‘round until I found others. Figured they might have a better idea of what to do,” Mondo explained.

“Did you not have a partner?” Aoi asked curiously.

“Nope.”

”Then we’d be glad to have you in our group!” She smiled. “But you’re right. What now? We never agreed on a meeting place or anything...how will we know what the others found out?”

“Maizono-san seemed to be the one in charge of the operation, yet she is not around. If one finds her, they could ask,” Sakura chimed in.

”Then I say we go find her. Can’t be that hard in a place where nearly everything is locked-up,” Mondo grumbled and walked ahead, the two girls following him.

The other two were silent, but Aoi clenched her fists in the jacket. “I just want to know what Monokuma is trying to plot, by doing stuff like locking the bathrooms! It makes no sense!” She cried. “It makes me wonder what other sorts of mean things he’ll do, like taking away our food or beds next,”

”I wouldn’t call starving someone to death mean, chick,” Mondo said.

“He wouldn’t even show his face...that’s suspicious. I’ve learned to never trust someone who can’t show their face!”

“Everyone in reality tends to wear at least some sort of mask. Thou cannot truly know everyone’s intentions,” Sakura reminded her gently.

“I know,” Aoi looked down at the floor, her eyes having adjusted to the dim purple lighting a while ago. She saw her red sneakers merrily walking along, completely unaware of the situation at hand. She was jealous of her sneakers. She wished she could be as happy as them; as unaware as them.

She could! She had to at least try for the others. She was always the perky one back at her old school. She didn’t want to lose that.

“I hope he won’t take our food away though! I’m pretty hungry now that I think about it!” She laughed cheerfully, placing her hand behind her head.

“Kidnappers usually don’t take away food unless it’s like a punishment or somethin’. I think you’ll be fine in that area, chick,” Mondo sighed. The halls they traversed through were silent; the only sound being the scuffling of their shoes.

“Oh, there you three are!” Sayaka ran over to them eagerly. “I was looking for you!”

”We were looking for _you_!” Aoi gasped. “Where were you?”

”Naegi-kun accidentally ran into me in the hallway,” She shyly adjusted her skirt. “I guess he was super excited about seeing me coming out of the AV room or something. But! I wanted to gather everyone up for a meeting in the cafeteria to go over what we found!”

“What a coincidence. We were just thinking of the same thing,” Sakura mused. “It’s nice that even in a place like this, thee still has her head screwed on correctly,”

Sayaka blushed a bit at that. “Someone has to do it, why not me?” She then turned to leave. “Meet you there, then? I have to go track down the others,”

“Yup!” Aoi cheerfully waved her off and began walking to the cafeteria, suddenly stopping.

It wasn’t something on the forefront of her mind for most of the day simply due to the fact everything was tenser. She had lots of other things on her mind at the time, but since things were starting to calm down at least a little, something else had just then dawned on her.

She really had to pee.

And the bathrooms were still locked, weren’t they?

The trio were the first ones in the cafeteria aside from Kiyotaka, who practically made a beeline for them.

“What have you discovered?” He demanded.

“Um, I think we should wait to share before everyone else gets here...that way we don’t repeat ourselves,” Aoi suggested, running her hand along one of the tables. She then immediately sat down, making her skort ride up to reveal magenta shorts underneath. She subtly crossed her legs.

Eventually, the remainder of the students all filed in, taking a seat at the main table. Byakuya and Touko sat at a smaller table across from them.

“Don’t you want to join us?” Yasuhiro asked curiously without missing a beat.

“That table is far too cramped for my liking,” Byakuya commented.

“We could very easily drag some more chairs here though, and I’m sure some people wouldn’t mind scooting over,” Makoto smiled awkwardly.

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Byakuya shut him down. “I am perfectly fine here on my own,”

Sayaka immediately stood up. “Alright. We all split off into groups of two to explore the school and learn everything we could. Let’s start-“

”We can’t start yet! Not all of us are here!” Yasuhiro suddenly spoke up, making Aoi look around.

“He’s right! Kirigiri-san isn’t here!” She noticed. “I wonder why,”

”Y-You don’t think she’s dead, d-do you?” Chihiro asked in a terrified whisper beside her, but Aoi shook her head.

“No way! Nobody’s going to cave that easily, you know? She’s just lost,” She pushed down the thought she had immediately afterwards; who got lost in a school that only had the first floor open?

“Maybe she found something super interesting!” Sayaka smiled, running her hand through her hair. “Anyway, as I was saying...as much as we’d love for Kirigiri-chan to be here, she isn’t. And we can’t sit around and wait forever for her as a result. We’re just going to have to keep on with our discussion and someone can fill her in later,” A serious expression replaced her usual cheerful one. It was a strange but welcome change after seeing her so smiley all day. No wonder everyone considered her to be their leader. “Who would like to go first?”

“I would! I discovered that each student has a room for themselves with their own key!” Kiyotaka announced, making Aoi sigh.

“We already knew that...” She crossed her arms under her chest, squirming in her seat slightly. “Actually, Sakura-chan and I walked around trying to see if we could get any of the steel plates to budge, but we couldn’t. They were far too strong,” She pouted, squirming again. She really had to pee! Their dorms had toilets she could use, right?

“Yeah, on that subject, I couldn’t get any of the gates to move. The ones in front of the stairs? So no luck there,” Mondo added.

”Like, the bathrooms are still totes locked. So is the infirmary,” Junko said. “And the school store, but that doesn’t matter. Nobody’s bustin’ their bun off trying to get in there, after all,”

“Well, maybe they’ll be unlocked tomorrow,” Sayaka smiled sweetly before turning serious. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, the dorm walls are sound-proof. Enoshima-chi and I tested them out,” Yasuhiro nodded.

“You could s-scream all you want..n-nobody would be able to hear y-you,” Chihiro shivered. “Not even your neighbor...”

“And none of us found a single exit,” Makoto added with a tone of finality.

“Perhaps not, but I found something that could be of use,” A familiar voice chimed in, making several people jump, including Aoi herself.

“You’re just like a ghost!” She gasped as Kyoko walked in, carrying a rolled-up slip of paper. “You look like one too...”

”This is a map of the school. Hope’s Peak Academy. See?” Kyoko ignored Aoi and rolled the map out on the cafeteria for everyone to see, bending over it. Everyone leaned in to look. “It has a lot of strange construction added, but there’s no doubt about it. This just confirms we’re in Hope’s Peak,”

“If we truly are, then why is everything so run-down?” Byakuya demanded. “For a school as elite as it promises, it doesn’t look good for its image to be in this state,”

”Like, forget about that, what about the teachers and staff?” Junko winced.

“And the other students?” Makoto finished. “We know where we are, but that just opens up a bunch more questions,”

“Questions that’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” Sayaka nodded. “I’m sure everyone is worn-out from everything that’s happened today-“

”Now just wait a moment!” It was Kiyotaka’s turn to stand. “We can’t just go to bed now! We have many more things to discuss, like what we’ll do in the morning! We need some sort of organization to keep ourselves from falling apart at the seams!”

“T-That can wait...” Touko grumbled. “Nobody is going t-to murder someone else in their sleep a-anyway...”

“Why even give them the chance?” Celestia spoke up for the first time in that conversation, tittering. “I say we make a new rule now. During nighttime, we do not leave our rooms for anything. That way, we can rest easy knowing nobody will come finish us off in our slumber,”

Aoi anxiously played with her earrings as she thought about it. It was sound advice, true, but hearing it suggested by Celestia sounded a bit...off. She finally shook her head. This was exactly the sort of thinking they were all hoping to avoid! It wouldn’t do good to be suspicious of anyone so early on!

“I agree!” Kiyotaka latched onto the rule instantly. “I also say we meet here every single morning for breakfast. It’ll give us a chance to learn more about ourselves!”

“Like, yuck. Nobody wants that,” Junko stuck out her tongue.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone wants. As annoying as it sounds, it’ll be a good way to keep track of everyone,” Kyoko spoke up. “And I suggest we end this conversation here. Anything else that needs to be discussed, can be discussed tomorrow,”

Everyone nodded in agreement and started to gather themselves up, mulling over what they learned. Aoi watched a few people cling to someone else in particular. Makoto and Sayaka left together, Sayaka talking his arm off again. Chihiro shyly followed after Celestia. Yasuhiro and Junko linked their arms together, of all possible pairings. Touko kept an eye on Kyoko before dashing away alone. Aoi tilted her own head slightly. Everyone seemed to be getting so close already...

”Is thou alright?” Sakura asked her calmly as they left the cafeteria, making her jump.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! I’m fine! Just...tired,” She winced and placed her hands in front of herself, anxiously pulling her skirt down slightly. “Bet I’ll sleep great tonight, huh?”

“Thou just seems to be troubled. I wanted to make sure thee was truly alright,” Sakura explained.

“Well, I guess there are a _few_ things on my mind,” Aoi admitted softly. The hall turned to a dark red above them. “Petty stuff that I can’t believe I’m worried about. I couldn’t find any kind of exercise room...I’m worried about getting soft,” She weakly flexed. “Not even a pool! What kind of a school doesn’t have a pool?!”

Sakura smiled a bit. “Thee and I have that in common,”

“Really? Well, I guess someone like you exercising a lot makes sense. Maybe we could find some weights lying around somewhere and use those!” She suggested eagerly just as they reached her dorm room. “Oh, my room!”

A pink bed was the centerpiece, and her E-Handbook was laid out on the desk next to a blue notebook and a key with ‘Asahina A.’ etched on it. In her desk was a sewing kit, which she quickly shut with a shiver.

“It’s plain though. I hope we can decorate it with stuff,” Aoi finally said, bouncing a bit on her bed.

“If thou does not mind, I shall be taking my leave and preparing for sleep in my own room,” Sakura nodded politely at Aoi, who stopped bouncing briefly.

“Oh! Goodnight then, Sakura-chan! We can walk to breakfast together, alright?” She waved happily before Sakura smiled and closed her door gently. Aoi then quickly stood up and dashed for her bathroom, glad that it wasn’t locked. She sighed in relief as she was finally able to relieve herself, peeing almost the second she sat down. Afterwards, she washed her hands and tugged her jacket off, placing it at the end of her bed, revealing a simple red tank top underneath. She took her earrings off as well with a sigh, falling into bed.

What she wouldn’t give for some pajamas. She glanced up at the camera. She normally never felt shame, but somehow, stripping naked in front of their invisible jailer squicked her out. Who knew who was truly behind that camera, you know?

She soon fell asleep, tossing in her sleep slightly. She dreamed of winning gold at the Olympics...Yuta and all her friends were there...


	3. Prologue: Opening Ceremony 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students reluctantly try to settle in their new location. Hifumi starts to develop a crush on the resident geeky programmer, much to said programmer’s horror. Sayaka, meanwhile, catches the attention of Makoto, Celestia, and Leon-for entirely different reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro: *does literally anything*
> 
> Hifumi: “SHE’S SO KAWAII IN HER EYES I SEE MY DESTINY WHY WON’T SHE WAKE UP AND NOTICE ME SOU DESU NEE” 
> 
> Also sorry this chapter is so long, I want to end this part soon and move onto the next one 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

^*^

Hifumi was awoken to the sound of rhythmic knocking on his door early in the morning. He put his glasses on and slowly stood up to get it, blinking a few times.

“No need to have such a fit so early,”

”Yamada-kun! It’s time for you to wake up and join us at breakfast!” Kiyotaka’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. There was silence for a few seconds before he began knocking loudly again. “Yamada-kun!”

“Received your message loud and clear!” Hifumi threw the door open, catching Kiyotaka clearly in the middle of knocking, judging by his raised fist. He just nodded.

“Very well then! Onto the next!” He strode straight down the hallway and began the same assault on his poor neighbor’s door.

He really went all out with the honor student aesthetic, didn’t he? All he needed was a clipboard and intimate knowledge of everyone’s grades and medical history and he’d be complete. Oh, probably best not to give him any ideas though.

Arriving at the cafeteria told him he was one of the later ones to arrive, but that didn’t bother him. He had a schedule to keep, a daily routine to do! Everyone could wait if they needed him for something. He took a seat at the table and waited for the remainder of the class to file in.

“Is it really a good idea to eat anything here? There’s a lot of us having to eat three meals a day, so wouldn’t it very quickly run out?” Aoi questioned once everyone was properly seated.

“Actually, I discovered the food in the kitchen is restocked daily! It’s all perfectly fresh and edible too!” Sayaka spoke up. “We have to make our own food, but surely that can’t be too difficult,”

No, such a feat wouldn’t be impossible for an idol like her. Weren’t they practically born knowing how to cook? Even if not, she surely could whip up something edible.

Everyone quickly made their respective favorite food for breakfast to the best of their ability before all sitting down again, eating in silence.

“Like, is this goin’ to be a regular thing? I hate silence! I don’t wanna just sit here all morning with a bunch of wet blankets while I’m trying to eat!” Junko huffed.

“There isn’t much here for an engaging conversation starter,” Kyoko said.

“I mean...there’s us,” Makoto chimed in. “We know each other’s names, but that’s it. Even the stuff I always read online just boasted about your talents. And I’m sure you guys are just as clueless from not running in the same circles. So...why can’t we talk about ourselves?” He laughed awkwardly.

“Man, I’m not one for sappy shit like that,” Leon sighed. “But if there’s anyone I’d like to know more about, it's Maizono-chan over there,”

“Really? Me?” Sayaka asked in feigned disbelief. Her large breasts bounced under her tight vest-the perfect size! Not too big and not too little. “I feel like everyone knows a lot about me already,”

“What does that pin you’re wearing mean? I forgot to ask yesterday,” Makoto asked.

“You don’t recognize it? It’s a bisexuality pride pin!” She beamed. “I bought it for myself online before coming here. I feel like there’s no shame in loving both, as boys and girls both have great things about them!”

“I don’t understand the appeal of wearing such a thing in public though. Are you not afraid of ridicule?” Celestia tittered.

“Most people can’t recognize it on sight though..and besides, it doesn’t really matter. I made it for myself,” Sayaka glanced around the table. “I could make some more for any other interested girls!”

”R-Really?” Chihiro asked shyly.

“Of course!” She took her hands, making her blush-and Hifumi nearly dying. “Are you a lesbian? Or bisexual?”

“I-I don’t know...I definitely like girls, b-but...I like boys too. I-I don’t think I pay much attention to t-that,”

“Hmm...”

“N-Not everyone is as open as you are about being w-weird,” Touko sneered at Sayaka. “A-And this topic doesn’t h-help anyone,”

“It was just an offer,” Sayaka frowned.

“So, you like chicks too? I never knew that about you. You like kissing them too?” Leon smirked. Sayaka just gave him a smile and returned to her food.

Hifumi started to return to his food as well, only looking up when he couldn’t shake the feeling of someone staring at him. Indeed, a pair of hazel eyes were looking straight at him, their owner yelping when she had been discovered.

“See something you like, Madame Fujisaki?” He ran his hands down his multitude of pins and buttons. ‘Madame’ seemed right to him. Chihiro deserved it for her contribution to the 2D world. Without her help, his dreams of marrying a virtual girl wouldn’t come true! She could make that happen!

“Y-You have a lot of buttons,” She replied meekly.

“I’ve been collecting these for years!” Hifumi said proudly, posing. “Each one tells a story, an epic tale about where I got it and what it means in my overall saga,”

“Please do not bore us with such incessant talk,” Celestia tittered again. “Nobody is interested. Except for Fujisaki-san I suppose, but she is a special case,”

An anomaly was Celestia. Dressed in gothic clothes; missing only the long hair, living the true aesthetic, yet she had insisted it was a family thing and not any form of cosplay. Rubbish, he thought. How could that possibly be? Nobody just wore outfits like that normally.

If he won his way into her heart and unlocked her route, he’d find out the reason!

Did he dare though?

Celestia was still eyeing him from the rim of her teacup, and he jumped a mile and returned to his food. No route unlocking for him today.

”Has anything else opened up?” Kyoko broke the silence.

“The infirmary is still closed,” Aoi relayed. “But the school store and bathrooms are all opened up now!”

”Great, maybe there’ll be stuff in there we can use to decorate our rooms with,” Leon said.

Decorating his room would be a great way to get his mind off of the current situation.

“I think there should be some kind of cleaning committee! Someone to go around the school and make sure everything is all tidy!” Kiyotaka spoke up again.

“Do we even need something like that? There’s only fifteen of us and none of us are slobs,” Junko said. “We can totes clean up after ourselves!”

“That’s a sentiment I’m sure some of us don’t share,” Kyoko said. “Even if we never use it, it could be a source of comfort to have around,”

“A sense of normality!” Makoto smiled and looked around at everyone. “Who should volunteer?”

Being on trash duty...he’d be able to see what all of the girls ate! And nobody would be able to think he was weird for it because he was just doing his job! Right?

Either way, his hand was already in the air. “I’d like to humbly offer my services up for this!”

“Alright. Anyone else?” Kyoko looked around at the remaining students, then looked back at Hifumi. “Just you, it seems,”

He could handle working on it alone. He rather preferred that.

After breakfast, everyone dispersed and Hifumi trudged after Chihiro.

“Madame Fujisaki!” He called out, making her pause. “Are you going to decorate your dorm?”

“Y-Yes...there’s nothing else to do, so I figured...” She trailed off and awkwardly clutched the cross necklace around her neck.

“Why don’t the two of us do it together? That way it’ll get done faster!” He suggested, making Chihiro blush adorably and look at her feet.

“S-Sure...” She finally squeaked.

She was so cute! Like a 2D girl come to life! Small and fragile with such coordinated colours and a vintage taste in fashion, not to mention those gloves! She clearly took both computer work and looking cute seriously. With that big bow in her hair, one might mistake her for an idol!

“T-There might be stuff in the school s-store...that’s where I was going to look,” Chihiro suggested, heading in that direction. Hifumi nodded and followed after her.

“Same here! Good thinking, Madame Fujisaki!”

The school store looked as anyone would expect it to look; aside from the fact it was mainly disorganized and filled to the brim with seemingly random junk such as an accordion, a classic painting, even a suit of armor.

“It’s not very organized...h-how are we going to find what w-we want?” She started to tremble again.

“Worry not, Madame Fujisaki. First, you must have a clear idea of what it is you’re looking for. In my case..more anime merchandise!” Hifumi adjusted his glasses again.

“Ummm...t-then...some technology. A camera...a telescope...I don’t know, I’m not very picky about stuff like that,”

“A noble choice for someone like you!” He nodded his approval and walked in another direction to find some posters or figures. Chihiro remained where she was, eyeing a small white telescope.

“I wonder how we’re g-going to move this stuff to our rooms t-though...” She whispered quietly.

“Madame Fujisaki, it is my honor as a gentleman to help you move anything you need help moving to your dorm!” He boasted, making Chihiro gasp.

“Are you really that strong?!”

“If a damsel-in-distress needs me, then yes I am!”

The two continued to work at finding stuff for their rooms, Chihiro blushing at the large amount of anime memorabilia Hifumi was able to find.

“I-I had no clue that stuff was e-even here...” She said.

“Like, there’s a giant suit of armor. Merchandise doesn’t seem to be that super strange in comparison,” Junko appeared from the shadows, making the two jump. “Speakin’ of which...you think that suit is, like, haunted? Why else would it even be here? Totes creepy,”

”D-Don't make jokes like that! G-Ghosts are really scary,” Chihiro jumped again, shivering.

“I was just joking,” Junko sighed. “I guess you guys are looking for junk for your dorms?”

”Indeed we are, Lady Enoshima! Are you?” Hifumi asked eagerly.

“Uh, no. I just got finished decorating my dorm...earlier. Yeah, I don’t need a lot of stuff,” She played with her hair.

The fashionista gyaru; the natural enemy of the otaku! If he wasn’t careful, she’d find a million ways to twist the discussion in her favour and leave him humiliated!

“That’s great! Madame Fujisaki and I will just be leaving,” He walked out with his arms still full of posters, Chihiro shyly trailing behind.

They headed to the dorms and went for Hifumi’s room first, being at the very end of the hallway. He pushed open his door and gently set the decorations and merchandise down, nodding to himself before rolling up his sleeves.

“Let’s get started!”

Chihiro nodded and pulled a few figurines out gingerly, setting them out on Hifumi’s desk. Most were of maids or princesses; a few tiny warriors carrying swords too. She studied them carefully as she set each one up.

“Have a favourite yet?” Hifumi asked, startling her. “None of them are limited edition as I’d prefer, but these are fine too. But the instant something rare comes in...!”

“Well...I really like the one of that protagonist from that certain zombie game...and the girlfriend from that mecha anime,” Chihiro trailed off slightly. “They’re n-not rare, b-but...still really well-made. I-I can see why you’d want to have these regardless,”

Hifumi smiled proudly and started to hang his posters up, watching Chihiro arrange more figures on his shelves. Her skirt rode up slightly, revealing milky white tights underneath. Hifumi looked away, not wanting to stare. Girls didn’t like it when boys stared at them.

The two worked in silence for a while longer, Chihiro sighing when she finished. “It’s warm in h-here...” She awkwardly adjusted her skirt.

“Would you like to get some milkshakes? We could make them ourselves from the kitchen! I don’t think anyone would mind!” Hifumi instantly suggested, startling her again. He really needed to learn to stop doing that. Tread carefully and lightly. Treat her as if she were a frail bunny; she was in a way.

“A-Alright...not too big though...” She nodded slowly.

The two headed to the cafeteria and Hifumi sat Chihiro down at a table near the kitchen. “Don’t you move a muscle, Madame Fujisaki! I’ll be right back!” He went into the kitchen and found a light pink glass that was tall and decorated to resemble lace. It’d be perfect for a milkshake!

He then took out a blender with milk, vanilla ice cream, strawberry syrup, ice, and regular strawberries. He quickly mixed them all together and turned the blender on high, watching them get mixed together into an icy sludge. He poured it into the cup, added whipped cream and another strawberry to top, then a pink straw and a green straw and carried it out.

“Your milkshake. I made it myself..” He sat down in front of her and watched her hesitatingly take the pink straw, bend it, and slowly sip the milkshake through it. She paused in silence, making him sweat. Did she not like it? What if she was lactose-intolerant?! Wait, she couldn’t be lactose-intolerant. That’s kinda gross to imagine on a girl, right?

“Do you...like it?” He finally asked slowly.

“Uh-huh,” Was all she said.

Hifumi still beamed, wanting to take that as a compliment. He began to drink his own side, staring into Chihiro’s eyes as she drank slowly again.

“You seem like you enjoy strawberries,” He said after a time. Chihiro winced a bit, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “That’s why I made a strawberry milkshake,”

She returned to drinking the milkshake down, sipping and slurping at it loudly. As a result, she ended up drinking about half of it. She stared him straight in the eyes and wiped her mouth off, loudly burping.

“Guys always appreciate a girl with a healthy appetite, you know? There’s nothing wrong with appreciating food for what it is!” Hifumi applauded proudly; he didn’t notice the brief look of horror on Chihiro’s face. “In fact..you can have the rest. I don’t mind!”

Chihiro hesitated again before she sipped again, blowing bubbles in the shake with her straw. Hifumi just smiled. If this were an anime, those bubbles would be shaped like hearts, and Chihiro would likely be blushing happily from her enjoyment.

After she drained the shake, she burped again and slid off her chair. “U-Um...I gotta go...t-take a wicked leak..” She tried to run off before Hifumi called after her.

”Wait, Madame Fujisaki! You were really helpful with my dorm...why don’t I return the favour and help out with yours?” He asked nervously. Being allowed inside a girl’s dorm...!

”N-No...I can handle it...” She smiled a strained smile and dashed away. Hifumi gasped and tried to call after her again, but she didn’t hear.

Oh well. His dorm was decorated, and he got to even share a milkshake with the prettiest girl in his entire class! It was a good day. What more could he possibly ask for?

^*^

Dinner that night, and the next day’s breakfast were both quiet affairs. It had been three days since they had gotten locked inside, and even though there was no real pressure or desire to kill another, Sayaka could still tell everyone was antsy. She ate as much of her food as she could manage, noticing most of her classmates were picking at theirs or flat-out not eating.

“Another day gone...another day we’re stuck in here with no hope of rescue,” Aoi sighed.

“If you want to leave so badly, just do what Monokuma told us. Kill someone,” Byakuya smirked, sending collective shivers down nearly everyone’s spines.

“Like, don’t even joke about that!” Junko huffed. “It’s so not funny! Someone might take that seriously!”

“I don’t l-like having to sleep here at n-night...” Chihiro trembled, her eyes brimming with tears. “It’s dark and spooky...I can’t e-even see the moon..”

“I say we’re all doing a good job of adapting though,” Celestia tittered. Sayaka glanced over at her, blushing a bit. “It has been three days already and we have begun to see this as our new home. That is exactly what I intended for everyone. After all, those who do not adapt simply die,”

“Look, if you wanna live here your whole life, that’s fine. But I meant it when I said I got shit to do on the outside, and whether our kidnapper likes it or not I’ll find a way out!” Mondo declared.

“I-If anyone was to kill, it’d probably be you,” Touko huffed. “Y-You’re nothing but brawn without a-any brains,”

“I’ll have you know I’ve only killed at times when it was needed, chick! I’d never purposefully take someone else’s life,”

“Come on, you guys. Do we really have to fight about this? Just chill.” Yasuhiro laughed.

“He’s right...arguing is just going to wear us out and use up our energy,” Sayaka nodded in agreement. Everyone turned to look at her. “That’s why today should just be another day of relaxation. If anyone finds anything new, we can regroup and discuss it,”

“I think that sounds fine,” Sakura spoke up, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Sayaka has no more appetite left, so she shyly stood up and watched the remainder of her classmates start to disperse. As their leader, she felt a natural pull to spend time with as many as possible...but who would be first?

She looked over at Makoto and smiled to herself. Her old childhood friend...the one who saved that crane and made her heart soar. The only normal-minded person throughout all of this.

She looked over at Celestia next and felt a warm blush form on her cheeks. Elegant, sophisticated, business-like. Everything about her dripped perfection. She loved the theater costume she wore and wanted to learn more about her. Did she like girls like her?

Finally, she made her choice, running after Celestia. “Celes-san! Wait up!”

To her delight, Celestia did stop, turning around to look at her.

“Hm? What did you require?” She asked in her thick French accent and overly-archaic Japanese. Sayaka smiled.

“It wasn’t anything important, I just thought...is there any makeup in the school store? My backpack had all of my supplies in it and thus I could use some more lipgloss,” She said. “If there is, I could give you a makeover!”

Celestia eyed her carefully, but Sayaka stood her ground.

“Maybe even do our nails?” She added.

“Normally, I would not entertain the thought of being with a woman as shrewd and energetic as you. However, I suppose I can entertain you for an hour or two today,” Celestia relented, looking away with her hands folded.

Sayaka beamed and happily walked ahead of Celestia, heading into the school store.

Indeed, there was a small display set up with any kind of makeup imaginable to mankind, making Sayaka gasp.

“You could open up a makeup store with this!” She got out a few lipglosses and mascara brushes for herself, as well as a new blue bottle of nail polish. She looked over at Celestia and got a red bottle, red lipstick, and white powder.

“We could do makeup in my dorm, or your dorm...” She suggested.

“We may do it right here,” Celestia sat down on a lawn chair that was found, adjusting her skirt. “There is no reason for us to run around madly around the school just for makeup. If you must do a touchup, you may do it right here,”

Sayaka just continued to smile and walked over to a small mirror on the counter, taking out the strawberry-flavoured lipgloss and gently rubbing it on her lips. She could feel Celestia’s eyes staring at her and she blushed heavily. She added a touch of mascara before smiling over at Celestia. “Your turn! Should I do it for you?”

”As long as you promise to be delicate and quick,” Celestia sighed, looking away. Sayaka still perked up and gently took Celestia’s chin, opening up the red lipstick and carefully rubbing it along her lips. Celestia pursed her lips as needed, puckering them a few times as well.

Sayaka continued to smile as she gently powdered Celestia’s already-super-pale skin. It was almost like having a giant dress-up doll. A gothic lolita-themed one, one Sayaka would’ve died to have as a little girl. Celestia herself was nearly doll-like in her appearance and mannerisms. She rarely spoke unless she needed to and smelled of expensive perfume.

If only there was someone with her appearance and Makoto’s genuine kindness. Sayaka would’ve been made in the romance department.

Once she finished, she offered the bottle of red nail polish. “Want a touch-up there too?” She asked nicely.

“I painted them recently,” Celestia smiled sweetly. “Still, thank you for offering,” She stood up and made her way over to the mirror, eyeing herself. She covered her gasp with her hand. “My, you did such a marvelous job,”

Sayaka simply beamed and took her seat in the chair, starting to repaint her own blue nails.

“You aren’t staying?” She looked up in surprise as she noticed Celestia leaving.

“I have other business I must be attending to. Good day,” She still kept her sweet smile as she walked off, making Sayaka pout a bit.

Oh well. At least she complimented her makeup ability. As she sat there painting her nails, she suppressed a shiver. The entire room was cold and silent. No footsteps or clocks ticking. No warm sunshine. What day was it, what season was it? She bit her lip as she tried to push those thoughts away from her mind. It didn’t matter.

Everyone was perfectly alright under her watch. She was perfectly fine.

She blew on her nails to help them dry, carefully putting everything away where she found it.

She then headed to the cafeteria, wanting to get a small snack for herself. As she leaned against the counter and started to make some salad, she felt someone come up behind her, making her pause.

"Who's there?" She asked curiously, feeling those same hands run up the length of her body before their owner walked over to stand beside her.

"Just me, babe," She saw the grinning face of Leon Kuwata and blushed a bit. "Whatja doin'? Making something?"

She nodded, perking up. "Yes! I was a bit hungry after breakfast since I spent some time with Celes-san, so I decided to make myself a salad to perk myself up!" Sayaka returned to it, making sure the salad looked aesthetically-pleasing as well as tasting good.

Leon watched her as she cooked, soon following her back into the cafeteria. She sat down at a smaller table and begun to eat.

"So, hey, I actually wanted to ask you about something," Leon said, his eyes trailing up and down her body. Sayaka slumped down a bit in her seat.

"What is it?" She asked anyway.

"So, you're a really famous idol. You probably know a lot about how to break into the music industry. Can you tell me how?" Leon said eagerly, and Sayaka paused.

"Why?" She smiled. "Don't you already have a talent?"

"Yeah, but that stuff's boring now. I never really cared about baseball or even liked it all that much. Music, though? That shit's cool. Chicks totally dig rockstars, you know. I bet you dig them too! So, come on. Any advice?" He laughed, placing a hand behind his head.

"You hate baseball that much, huh? I suppose that's why your appearance is more of a punk-rocker and not a baseball player!" Sayaka still giggled nicely.

"Yup, felt like I needed a change," He nodded. "So, got any tips for me?"

"Uh....huh...um, let me think about it some," She said, pushing the bowl away from her. She set her chopsticks down in front of the bowl and stood.

"Right, you probably have so many tips you wrote them down in your room somewhere, right?"

"Yes," Sayaka then walked off, feeling her features darken.

=

Sayaka hadn't seen Leon for the entire rest of that day, or the next morning, and counted her blessings. She sighed a sigh of relief as she headed back to her room after breakfast, making a mental note to herself that Kyoko had skipped that day.

Well, no matter. She couldn't make anyone come who didn't want to come, after all!

She walked down the hallway leading to the dorms, deep in thought and thus hadn't realized when she collided with someone else.

"Ouch!" She cried out in pain as she hit the floor, rubbing her head with a wince. Her skirt had fallen up to reveal her cute pink panties with a little bow in the front.

"I'm so sorry!" Makoto gasped. "Are you hurt?"

Sayaka slowly shook her head, managing to stand herself back up.

"It's just a small bump...I may not look like it, but I've gotten a few muscles built up from all of the dancing I do!" She giggled. "We really need to stop having this happen to us though,"

"Yeah.." Makoto blushed awkwardly, recalling a few days ago when they had been exploring the school and they accidentally collided as she walked out of the AV room. "I'm kinda clumsy..."

Sayaka giggled again at that. "Did you want to spend the day with me? You seemed to be...idling,"

"You really want me to?" He asked, and she nodded.

"This isn't middle-school, Naegi-kun. We can stand on more equal ground now," She moved a bit closer to him, letting him see her painted nails. "Speaking of which...do you remember me? We didn't get much of a chance to speak at introductions the other day,"

"Yes! I do! Class 4, right?" Makoto asked, and she nodded, beaming. He remembered! He really remembered her! "What are we going to do?"

She hesitated a bit at that. "Well...I was thinking of trying to explore the school a little bit more and see if I could find...something to defend myself with," Sayaka finally admitted. Makoto nodded, sensing she was frightened. "I know it seems ridiculous, but...we are at the mercy of our unseen captor, and since he wants us to murder someone...whose to say he won't get bored of just waiting around and come after one of us himself?"

Makoto nodded again. "I understand...better safe than sorry, right?"

Sayaka smiled at his understanding. If there was anyone in the whole entire school who'd drop everything in a heartbeat and be willing to help her, genuinely, it would be Makoto. He was selfless and always put others before himself.

"You were going to suggest the gym, right?" She giggled at his surprised reaction. In reality, she saw a display case there during their entrance ceremony and figured there might be something there. "I'm an esper, remember?" She said anyway, tilting her head.

"R-Right...let's go!" He led the way a bit eagerly, and Sayaka happily followed him, walking down the various winding hallways. The broken lights seemed to stop flickering and sputtering; having gone out forever. There was still enough bright, garish headlights strewn around everywhere on the ceiling that they could still see where they were going.

Once they reached the gym, Sayaka motioned over to the display case. Makoto walked over and noticed an ornate practice sword covered entirely in gold leaf. Curious, he tried to carefully lift it off the display-and found his hand covered in the gold residue.

"Oh no!" Sayaka gasped. "I was hoping it could be used as a weapon, but if it's that hard to touch..." She thought for a moment before smiling again. "Still, it'd make a pretty decoration, right? Why don't you take it instead?"

Makoto looked at her in surprise. "You really want me to have it, huh...?" He laughed awkwardly.

"Just be careful when you move it so you don't stain your hands. You could wrap it in newspaper or something!" She suggested. "I'll just look for something else later. Though, with you here...I don't think I'd need to. I feel perfectly safe with you here!" She blushed and smiled at Makoto.

"Yeah..if anything ever happens to you...I'll protect you...I promise!" He shyly and suddenly took her hands, making her smile more.

"I know you mean that..." She looked around the room. "That's why I'm going to be your Ultimate Assistant! Let's work together to solve the mysteries of the school!"

"Y-Yeah!" Makoto became more flustered at that as he watched her walk to the center of the room and sit down, nicely adjusting her skirt to cover herself up better.

"Let's just sit here and talk," She suggested, watching Makoto sit across from her. Sayaka then continued to sit there, thinking for a minute, realizing she had nothing else on her mind. The one thing she was thinking about was how she still wished she had some sort of weapon anyway, but that was something she'd have to deal with herself. Makoto shouldn't have to worry about her like that.

"I don't have anything to talk about..." She finally admitted, looking away.

"Well, I don't mind just sitting here in silence. It's nice to take a break and just sit and think about things, right?" Makoto tried to reassure her. She looked back over at him. The silence was deafening; no footsteps or electrial hums or clocks ticking. "You don't really have much of a chance to do this, though, do you? Since you're always so busy..."

Sayaka continued to stare at him for a while longer. "Ever since I was a little girl, it was a huge dream of mine to become an idol on the stage. Mom died when I was very little, and Dad was a workaholic who spent every single night working overtime. I was still little, so it got pretty lonely at times, having to take care of myself," She suddenly recalled the feeling of darkened rooms, only being lit up by the TV, carefully trying to slice up pieces of cheese with as sharp a butter knife as she could find so her toast would taste just a little bit better. "The only thing that gave me comfort were the idol shows they'd play a lot, often late at night. I fell in love with that image. The songs, the dances, the clothes...they looked just like princesses!"

Makoto smiled a bit as he listened.

"What I loved the most, however, were their smiles. Their bright, cheery, positive smiles...they smiled as if everything would be okay. They smiled as if there was nothing wrong in the world. It made me want to be like that, to smile and cheer up people as I performed. Make someone's day better,"

"That's great! You acheived your childhood dream then!" He cheered, but she frowned at him.

"I did everything I could in order to acheive that dream. Anything and everything I could. Even some very bad things. I believed that if you could truly chase after your dreams, then you absolutely could make them come true," Sayaka's features darkened as she recalled the grueling practice hours, the endless pitch changes and shifts, the obvious lip-synching, the cinched belts and tiny waists she was forced to keep, the morning-after pills she always had a constant prescription for, the obnoxious flash of cameras everywhere, and of course all of the stares and hands on her. All of the things put into her, onto her. How the only reason she put up with it at all was because after every morning, when the deed was done, she'd pull herself up in front of a mirror and whisper to herself: 'This is for your dream. This is what you wanted', and try to ignore the dull ache inbetween her legs.

Nobody knew any of that about her. She knew her classmates certainly didn't; they likely all had the same story as her. She would never tell them. She liked the stares; sometimes, she didn't mind that the girls all wanted to be her and all the boys wanted to do her. It was all part of the job.

"In that kind of world, if you falter even just a little bit, you'll be left behind. You must always swim and never get a chance to catch your breath," Sayaka finally finished, staring straight at Makoto.

"That sounds tough," He offered. "Does that mean you don't enjoy it?"

She shook her head. "No, I actually do enjoy it...everything we do together is a lot of fun! My group and I...we're rivals, but also very close friends. If it wasn't for them, I likely would've given up years ago," She felt her features darken and her heartbeat quicken. "So what happens when the world grows tired of us? We'll all split up and go our seperate ways...everything I've worked for would be for nothing....nobody would even care about me anymore and I'd be all washed-up..."

Sayaka started to tremble at the thought of it. Few artists managed to keep their footing after their groups broke up or they grew older; what hope did she have? She was just some teeny-bopper for teenage girls, she had no real lifespan. She wasn't good at anything else. She would likely have to sell her body, or work a dull secretarial job....

"That's why I wanted to attend Hope's Peak...when I was scouted, I almost instantly accepted. If you graduate from here, you're guranteed success for life, right? That's what I want...that's what I need. I'd never have to worry about losing my friends to the daily grind," Her voice lowered as she thought about their last day spent together; they all hugged her tightly and a few even came back several times for more hugs. She recalled their laughter, their joy, their veiled envy that she got picked, the pins they all made for her for her backpack, the strength of their hugs, their worries over when they'd see again...it felt as though it was both nearly a week ago and a thousand years ago.

They wanted to see her again.

They wanted to see her again.

They....wanted....to...see...her...again...

"I'm trapped in this place..." Sayaka's own voice was barely above a whisper, faltering with her trembles. "They're still waiting for me on the outside, I just know they are. And instead of being there with them, I'm stuck in here. Without me, they'll all just fall apart and everyone will forget about us..." She hugged herself. "Instead of trying to figure a way out, I've just been basking in the glory of my classmates, trying to get everyone to bond....because that's all I care about. I never once thought about my friends until now...how much they much be disappointed...how lonely they must be...how much they must hate me..."

She suddenly cried out, feeling all of her despair and fear over the siutation pour out. Tears came to her eyes. "I can't sit around here anymore! I have to find a way out...! I have to, otherwise everything I've worked for would be in vain!" Sayaka yelled, shaking even more. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide and she knew she looked absolutely haggard.

"Maizono-chan...?" Makoto blinked. Sayaka took a deep breath to compose herself, looking away awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for shouting like that...I shouldn't complain about something you can't control," She sighed. "This must be awkward for you,"

"No, I get it! I mean, we're all missing out on stuff here. I'm sure everyone feels the same way that you do," He smiled to reassure her, and she quickly smiled back just as easily.

Makoto shouldn't have to worry about her like that.

"Before we head back to our rooms, why don't we get something to eat?" She offered. "Believe it or not, I'm actually a really good cook!" She stood up.

"Really? What's your speciality?" Makoto asked, indeed sounding surprised.

"Chili oil!" She tilted her head.

"But that's a condiment!"

"I was just joking," Sayaka teased. "I'm actually pretty good at making salads," If it was cold, she considered herself a master of making it.

"That sounds good. Uh, lead the way," Makoto said, and Sayaka giggled and twirled around, leading the way to the cafeteria. As they walked, she felt a sudden sense of dread that she couldn't place.

What if Leon was in there?

She shook her head. She had nothing to fear from Leon. He was just a hot-headed womanizer who didn't understand the importance of his own talent. Maybe he'd come around.

Sayaka made simple garden salads for the two of them, and they talked a little bit more. She learned he actually went to a private school before Hope's Peak, hence his overly-fancy uniform. Sayaka was surprised by that; she wasn't expecting Makoto of all people to attend a fancy school prior to Hope's Peak. Why was he so nervous then? He should have more experience in these sorts of things!

They then walked back to their dorms after eating. Makoto stopped in front of her door, likely sensing she had something to say.

"Naegi-kun...I'm really happy you're here with me. Even though nothing has actually happened yet...everyone is still tense. And...it's nice to have a familiar face here. Just having you here is enough to cheer me up," She admitted softly.

Makoto blushed heavily.

"You're a lot nicer than even I was expecting, considering back in middle-school, you'd ignore me and walk off whenever I tried to get close," Sayaka trailed off. "You wouldn't even look at me,"

"W-Well, it's rude to just stare at people, especially famous on-wait, how'd you know that?!" He asked in disbelief.

"I was always watching you," Sayaka admitted with a giggle. "I thought you were interesting and wanted to get closer to you, but I never had a good chance to. And then we graduated and went off to different schools and then I never forgave myself,"

"Why though? I'm just a regular guy.." Makoto's blush hadn't dwindled at all.

"You remember when we were both first-years in middle-school and that huge bird accidentally fell into the school pond after getting lost? It was a really big bird that's often in our legends,"

"I think I remember that....a crane, right?" Makoto asked, and Sayaka nodded happily.

"Right! How often does one get to see a crane up close? The teachers had no idea what to do with it because it was so large...but you rushed right in and led the crane out of the pond and back into the forest!" She beamed. "It couldn't have been easy because the crane was really frightened...but you did a good job anyway,"

Makoto just nodded. "You still remember that, huh?"

 _Why wouldn't I? That was when I first realized I was in love with you._

Sayaka just smiled and tilted her head.

"I wanted to thank you for what you had done, but I never had the chance to. I dreamed of getting the oppourtunity to speak to you again.....I just never thought it'd be in a circumstance like this," She felt her cheeks grow warm despite that. "Wouldn't it be funny, if I happened to be the crane you rescued? I'd be just like the one in that one story, giving up my life to help save yours...I promise I'll make the clothes look beautiful for you at least,"

Makoto laughed awkwardly. "Don't say things like that. I promise I'll protect you and make sure nothing bad happens to you. If I promise nothing else...I at least promise that," He hesitaited at her hands again, staring at the paint on them.

The two then parted ways, Sayaka heading back into her dorm. She was startled by the sight of Monokuma suddenly appearing on her monitor, informing everyone it was time for bed.

"We were really talking that long, huh?" She whispered to herself, slipping her shoes off and crawling into bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, her mind being filled with disturbing dreams.


	4. Chapter 1: We Just Want to Survive; Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma finally makes his first appearance in the flesh, telling everyone he's sick of waiting and gives them all their first motive to entice murder. The motive? 
> 
> DVDs of their friends and family in danger. Sayaka takes it harshly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is updating super quickly but it’s just so much fun to work on! 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

^*^

"I-I don't want to be the one to say it, but....I-I'm really starting to feel dull and tried of being stuck here...t-this is our fourth day here, right?"

"Fifth, I believe," She tittered.

Chihiro didn't say anything.

"I imagine someone like you would appreciate being locked in a place like this though. Is it not the dream of every Catholic schoolgirl to be locked in a nunnery, living out the rest of their lives for their beloved God?" Celestia leaned forward slightly, staring into Chihiro's eyes. She hesitaited and took a step back.

"M-Maybe some of them do, but...I-I don't think I could handle being cut-off from t-technology," She admtted softly. "A-At least here there's an AV room even if I-I can't actually access anything on it. T-The hum of computers is relaxing to m-me.."

Celestia just tittered again, closing her compact carefully.

Chihiro was such a joke.

^*^

Sayaka woke up the next morning and begun wandering around the school, seeing several of her classmates out and about already. She smiled and waved happily at each one she encountered. Most gave her a wave or a smile back, but a few ignored her. No matter. She couldn't force anyone to greet her either!

Her appettie was weak that morning, so maybe she'd just take a bath instead. There was a shower in her room, but she found herself longing to take an actual bath and just soak all of her exhaustion away. Surely the school had to have one, right? It was a very vital part of communal living!

"Morning, Maizono-chan! Where are you heading?" Leon's voice reached her, and Sayaka paused.

"Morning yourself! I was just wandering around. Not much to do here, you know?" She giggled heartily. "We've already seen everything there is to see about five times over!"

"Yeah, that kinda sucks...even I'm starting to go stir-crazy...oh well. What do you say to hangin' out with me? We could talk more about music," He offered, and she ran her hands through her hair.

"Oh, I'd be delighted!" She stood up straighter, emphasizing the largeness of her bust through her tight blouse and vest. She could feel Leon's eyes on her as they walked side-by-side in the halls.

Also as they walked, Leon confided in her that playing baseball was more of a side thing and he really wished to pursue music. His dream was starting his own punk band and being the frontman and singer of it. When she asked if he could sing or even play anything, he just laughed her off, saying those things weren't super important in a band.

Sayaka clenched her fists together at her side briefly before she caught herself and instead tugged on the ends of her skirt. She smiled at him.

"That sounds like a worthy goal!"

"I know, right? I knew you'd be the most understanding out of anyone else here," Leon grinned at her. "Speaking of which...have I ever mentioned how cute you are? Maybe you and I could be something more?"

Sayaka offered him a strained smile.

"What did that pin of yours mean again? That you date chicks? So maybe I could get you to make-out with one of the other girls here, huh?"

"Maybe if they're hot enough," She played along, swaying her hips.

"That's what I like to hear!"

By the time Sayaka was free to head to her dorm, she felt ready to collapse.

"Kuwata..." She mumbled to herself, feeling her features darken.

=

Breakfast was a mostly-silent affair the next day. Sayaka stirred her spoon around in her oatmeal endlessly, not having an appetite. Kiyotaka eyed her wearily from his position at the table, but she didn't look up. She would've skipped if she could've.

"We have been in here for six days! Are you totes sayin' there's still no way out?!" Junko cried out in annoyance. "No hint to who did this to us? No sign of an exit? Nothing?" She had no food in front of her.

Celestia tittered. "If you keep carrying on like that, you make yourself an easy target to be killed,"

"Killed?!" Junko demanded, turning her attention over to Celestia. "What are you tryin' to suggest?!"

"I am just suggesting that making an attempt to adapt to our current situation would do you a world of good. Especially since showing any sign of weakness here sets you up as an easy target to eliminate," Celestia sipped her tea daintily. She had a plate of nothing but seeded watermelon and wheat toast.

"You're crazy if you think anyone could just adapt to life here! There's nothing to do here! Our friends and family probably miss us! We all have other junk to do outside!"

"Just leave her alone. If this chick wants to live here her whole life, then let her. Whatever floats her boat. But I can't live like that," Mondo sighed.

"I am surprised our mystery captor hasn't made themselves known," Celestia added. "Surely they would enjoy showing up out of nowhere and torturing us?"

"I don't think so. They'd want to be more secretive!" Yasuhiro offered.

"Whoever it is, they're a pretty messed-up person for putting us in a situation like this," Aoi huffed. "I think we can all agree on that,"

"Someone messed-up? That doesn't mean anything if we have no clues as to who it is," Leon ran a hand through his hair.

"Ummmm..." Chihiro shyly raised her hand. "Uhhh..."

"Yeah? What?"

"I-If it's someone who's really unstable a-and crazy...then do you think it could be...that homicidal maniac? Genocide Jack?" She suggested.

"That serial killer who's everywhere on the Internet?!" Makoto gasped in surprise.

Sayaka finally glanced up from her bowl.

"The police haven't been able to capture him, even though he leaves a huge trial of victims behind. He even writes 'Bloodbath Fever' in his victims' blood after the fact somewhere on the scene," Byakuya added.

"Don't his victims number in the thousands?" Yasuhiro asked.

"Like, that's totes a rumor...no human could ever kill that many. The real number is probably something like ten or twenty," Junko was pale. "Still..."

"Wouldn't be out of the question for someone like that to be behind this," Mondo said.

"But we'd be in trouble if he was, because then he could just kill us off too!" Leon said.

"I-It's just a theory that I-I have...there's no proof for it," Chihiro reminded them.

"I-I think you guys should just shut up about it..." Touko grumbled. "If you keep talking about serial killers, it'll say a lot about your mental state,"

"Are you tryin' to start a fight with someone?!" Junko demanded. "We're just swapping theories!"

"Calm down!" Sayaka said. "Arguing with each other over things like this is just going to make the situation more tense than it already is!" All eyes turned to her and she blushed slightly.

"She's right! Besides, we've been in here for nearly a week. Surely help must be coming from _somewhere,_ right?" Aoi said. "Enoshima-san was right, we still have our friends and families. Surely they must be missing us and trying hard to reach us..."

"H-Help us...?" Touko asked in disbelief.

"Yeah! So we have that to look forward to!"

"Help? You really think help is coming for you?" A chilling laugh broke through the air, making everyone freeze in their tracks and look over to the end of the table.

Standing there was a small stuffed bear; one side was white and inoffensive, even cute, while the other side was black with sharp teeth and a glowing red eye.

"Seriously? Our captor is a bear?" Junko asked in disbelief.

"You have a lot of nerve, showin' yourself to us like this!" Mondo started to crack his knuckles.

"C-Can you even hear us?" Touko demanded.

Monokuma ignored all of them and instead sighed.

"Six days. Six long days of just sitting here and waiting, waiting for someone to kill someone else. And then I realized what was missing. The vast majority of people do not murder unless they have some kind of motive behind it. Anger, jealousy, greed...look in the history books and that's how it usually goes. Revenge, protection, scarifices, the list goes on and on. So then I realized the same was true of you students. You won't kill unless you're given a motive, and so I'm proud to announce my first one!" Monokuma announced eagerly. His tone was cold and straight-to-the-point. "DVDs for all of you! It shows something very important to you, something that's not currently in the school," And with that, he threw up fifteen different clear discs that fell onto the table. Each had a name written on it.

"You can watch these in the AV room,"

"Wait," Kyoko called out. "Before you leave, can't you at least tell us who you are? Why you're doing this?"

"I cannot. Where would the fun in that be? I want to see all of you running around in circles, hopelessly making an attempt to solve this mystery. It'll be quite fun for me," He laughed before vanishing suddenly.

Sayaka stared at her DVD carefully, her heartbeat quickening. Her name was written in fine blue marker, and the rest of the DVD was blank.

What was on it? Something very important to her...that wasn't currently at the school...could it be..?

"So, who's gonna check this shit out for us?" Mondo spoke up. "There's no tellin' what could be on this, ya know?" He looked around the room and his eyes landed on Makoto. "Hey, Naegi-kun! Our best buddy! Why don't you check these out for us?"

"Huh?! Why me?" Makoto demanded.

"'Cuz you're the closest to the door,"

"But that doesn't mean-"

Sayaka stood up. "I'll go with you. Safety in pairs, and all that," She offered him a sweet smile that he returned.

"Good luck!" Mondo gave them a thumbs-up and gently nudged the pair out of the cafeteria.

Sayaka held her DVD close to her chest as they walked, heading for the AV room.

"I wonder about Oowada-kun sometimes. I can't really pin down if he's a good guy or a bad guy. He doesn’t seem to be out to hurt anyone, but at the same time, I don’t think he’s a good guy,” Makoto suddenly said.

Sayaka shrugged. “Maybe he’s neither,” He certainly was one of the more respectful guys in their class. From what she could tell, he was one of the only ones who didn’t stare needlessly long at her chest or try to peek under her skirt or ask her to kiss girls.

Unlike...

She hung her head. They passed by one of the steel plates and she nearly reached out for it before she thought better. Her hand suddenly felt clammy.

Once they reached the AV room, Sayaka rushed off to bring the others in, telling them they could watch the DVDs in there.

“But why would we want to?” Aoi shivered.

“Yeah, there could be horrible filmed atrocities on here!” Hifumi cried.

“I don’t think we have much of a say in the matter,” Kyoko said, and reluctantly everyone gathered themselves up and headed to the AV room, slipping their own DVDs into the slots and putting the headphones on their heads.

Sayaka trembled slightly as she did so, feeling the sickly green lighting surround her.

After a few seconds of static, the scene changed to show her group all dressed in their stylized dresses, happily finishing up a performance.

“Hey girl! Hope you don’t mind that we all pitched in to wish you luck!” Satomi grinned.

“Getting into Hope’s Peak...even for someone as talented as you, it must be surprising,” Emi smiled.

”I hope you don’t forget about us, okay? Promise that you won’t,” Ayaka added.

“Oh, oh! Send us lots of emails while you’re there! That way we don’t have to miss a thing!” Tayu added with finality. They all hugged each other and threw their hands into the air.

“Good luck, Maizono-chan!” They all cheered simultaneously.

Sayaka bit her lip slightly. Even then, they were proud of her, wishing her luck...and what had she done? Just sat around getting cozy, making no attempt to escape at all. She was a terrible friend and groupmate. Her features darkened slightly and she looked away.

Monokuma’s metallic voice soon filled her head: “Maizono Sayaka-chan, a young starlet who got lucky and blessed with a great voice. She rose to stardom alongside her group and is one of the most popular idols in the nation! Her group, Sweet⭐️Parfait, tops the charts weekly with every new song they put out! The sky is the limit for this group of best friends!”

The screen fizzled out to static, making Sayaka glance over to see what had happened.

Her heart jumped to her throat before nearly stopping completely.

The stage was painted in the color of blood, with Monokuma’s menacing face plastered on all of the screens. Her group were all laying underneath, having fainted.

 _No...no..._

“Having abandoned her friends like that, the group almost instantly fell apart! On the night of their supposed final concert, a terrorist released a poisonous bomb onto the stage and attempted to knock them all out. I’d say it worked alright...worked out too well!” Monokuma laughed crazily in her ears, which was too much for her to take.

“Shut up! Get out of my head!” She suddenly screamed, ripping her headphones off and throwing them hard at the wall. She breathed heavily, her heart hammering. Her blood felt ready to explode and she felt dizzy. Tears came to her eyes.

_That happened to them because you abandoned them. You were selfish and left them, and now they’re injured, or even worse, dead. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault._

“Stop it...” She quietly pleaded under her breath. Around her, her other classmates started to react with similar despair and fear and disgust in their voices as they saw what was on their own DVDs. Maybe it was like hers, and maybe it wasn’t. She didn’t care.

“Maizono-san? Maizono-san?” Makoto’s voice just barely reached her.

“Like, tell us what was in your video,” Junko said.

Sayaka said nothing, hugging herself. Their voices sounded a million miles away from her.

 _It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault._

“Maizono-san-?” He tried to touch her shoulder.

”Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!” She screamed, throwing his hand off and running from the room. Her shoes clacked loudly in the empty halls and tears streamed from her face, making her eyes burn.

She ran into the first room she saw and collapsed to her knees, trembling. Her breaths were shallow and rapid.

“They can’t be dead..they just can’t be...” She found a trashcan and opened her mouth over it, expecting herself to vomit, but none came. She shoved it away and just crawled over to the other side of the room, curling up in a chair. She hugged herself and sobbed silently. “I have to know...I need to know...why...why is this happening...?”

Sayaka heard the door open and flinched slightly, barely registering that it was Makoto.

“Are you alright?”

Was she? No. Was she expected to say that? No.

“Yes...I’m perfectly...” Her voice wavered before cracking. “Not fine. I’m not alright at all!”

Makoto waited.

”I have to get out of here! I have to learn what truly happened...I can’t live like this anymore!”

He suddenly took her shoulders, making her tremble more.

“This is exactly what they want! To make you think rashly...I get it. I think about my family, what I saw in that video..but we have to keep going! Surely those videos are fake anyway, the police would be up-in-arms if they weren’t!” He tried to offer her a smile.

Even in a situation like that, he was optimistic and kind. She found herself wishing she could be like that, be that calm.

A sob escaped from her chest and she buried her face into Makoto’s, crying. “P-Please...I don’t care anymore..I have to make it out of here...I can’t do this anymore...” She sobbed, nearly falling to her knees.

Makoto nodded and carefully helped her up. “I promise that to you. If nobody rescues you, I’ll just rescue you myself! I promise! You’re my Ultimate Assistant, and I can’t let anything bad happen to you!”

Sayaka sniffled, wiping away her tears. “Yes, I am your Ultimate Assistant...but do you really mean that? About rescuing me?”

”I mean it more than I mean anything else in my life,” He took her hands with a blush, and she felt a small smile creep back onto her face.

”Thank you, Naegi-kun. I know I can trust you, at least. I believe you,” Without thinking, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips, making him blush heavily and step back.

“M-Maizono-san?!”

She just smiled more.

”Uh, we should be getting back to our dorms...it’s getting late,” Makoto suggested shyly, and Sayaka nodded in agreement. Sleep would do her good, she needed to sleep...

They held hands as they walked back, Sayaka shyly giving Makoto another kiss.

“I hope you sleep well despite everything. You look pale...” Makoto awkwardly reached a hand out to her before thinking better of it. “Night,”

”Good night!” Sayaka waved to him before heading back into her dorm.

The moment her door closed, she closed her eyes and trembled as those images of her groupmates collapsed on the ground returned to her. She trembled.

“Tonight. I have to get out tonight,” She whispered to herself, looking around her room. “Sorry Naegi-kun...”


	5. Chapter 1: We Just Want to Survive; Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayaka goes forward with her plan to murder. It backfires on her. Horribly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a scene of extreme dub-con bordering on rape. If that makes you genuinely uncomfortable in any sense, then skip it. The scene begins at the line ‘I like that reaction,’ and ends at the line ‘Not that good, but still better than I expected,’ However I still suggest at least skimming because this is a horror retelling, it’s meant to be uncomfortable and disturbing and explicit at times
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

^*^

After Makoto came back and told everyone Sayaka would be alright, there was a collective sigh of relief from the others before they all decided to start leaving as well.

“Anyone who can sleep after what we saw...they’re braver than me,” Leon said out-loud, glancing around. He kept insisting to both himself and the others that they were fake, but...there was always the chance that they weren’t, right? It was exactly something a homicidal maniac would do.

Showing Kanon like that, surrounded by men, in the middle of getting her clothes torn off...she may have been hard to deal with at times, but he didn’t actually wish to watch her get raped! And that was just his video. Who knew what everyone else’s showed.

“I-I don't think I’ll sleep very well tonight...a-after that,” Chihiro trembled. Tears were falling down her face. “I might have God in my corner, but...even He has a limit! I can’t see Him wishing for me to s-suffer like t-this,”

“Hey, wanna share a room with me? Us gals gotta stick together, ya know?” Junko flashed her a smile, though Chihiro just flinched uncomfortably and looked away.

”N-No...I can’t...I couldn’t..”

“Yeah, she’s a huge Jesus freak. Probably thinks two chicks in the same room together is some kinda sin,” Leon had meant it as a joke, but his strained tone sure didn’t make it sound that way. Junko was glaring at him then, which he rolled his eyes at.

“Her eyes just look so sad,” She nudged Mondo once Chihiro had left. “Like the sun behind grey, rain-filled clouds,”

“I don’t know much about poetry shit,” Mondo admitted, making Junko laugh.

”Just something I came up with myself. I don’t know how...”

A girl leaning on Mondo....where had he seen that before?

 _”You must be a regular ladies’ man then!”_

He shook his head. Sleep would be good for him.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Leon walked back to his dorm, not paying attention to anyone around him anymore.

^*^

”Want some tea?” Aoi asked Sakura shyly, perking up when she nodded. “Perfect! You don’t mind if I make it, right?”

”Of course not. I have learned it is quite difficult to mess up tea if one already knows the basics,” Sakura reassured her. “Does thou need any help? It is nearing nighttime and with two hands, the task will be done quicker,”

“Sure, you can help!” Aoi beamed and the two girls walked to the cafeteria together. “Wonder if we could make some doughnuts too? Oh! I once read about a really quick but great way to make doughnuts if we have a deep fryer! We could put a bit of jelly in them and roll them around in sugar! They’ll look like little balls!”

Sakura smiled at that. “Why not? It’ll be nice to have the tea with something. How about I make the tea, and thee makes the doughnuts?”

“Sounds good to me!” Aoi nodded and washed her hands, rolling up the sleeves of her jacket. She then started pulling out the ingredients needed.

The two worked in silence for a while, the only noise being the clattering of dishes, the adding of ingredients, or the hum of the fridge. Eventually, Aoi glanced up, biting her lip.

“Sakura-chan...is it alright if I spend the night with you? I’d just feel more comfortable with someone I know,” She asked quietly.

“Of course. This situation is attempting to place friend against friend. I want to help prevent that and ease anyone’s anxiety in any way that I can,” Sakura nodded. “I also do not believe it is against the school rules,”

”Nope! Just boys and girls can’t sleep in the same room together,” Aoi beamed. “But I don’t think there’s any chance of that happening!” She suddenly blushed and laughed awkwardly, returning to her doughnuts. After a few more minutes, she spoke again. “If it’s not too personal...what did you see on your video?”

The oil in the fryer popped and bubbled.

“My family. Do not despair; I would never let such a simple image get to me. They are still my family and I trust that they are safe. However...I still cannot help but to question. How could they let themselves be defeated so easily? They aren’t ones to go easy on others...” Sakura stopped what she was doing momentarily and just stared ahead briefly. Aoi watched her as she finished up making the doughnuts.

“Mine was of my little brother, locked away in prison...I guess I feel that same way about it...he’s not that kind of person,” She sighed. “I won’t let it get to me though...I can’t..”

”Thou is stronger than our adversary thinks,” Sakura reassured her, giving her a warm smile.

They carried the tray of tea and doughnuts back into the cafeteria and started to eat, sitting at one of the smaller tables.

As they ate and made small talk, Sayaka suddenly wandered in, a serious look in her eyes.

“Maizono-chan!” Aoi greeted her happily. “Want to have a late-night snack with us? Doughnuts and tea! All hand-made!”

Sayaka gave her a weak smile. “Thanks for the offer, but no. I just want to get some water before going to bed for the night,” She walked into the kitchen and came out a minute later, a sudden heaviness to her step.

“Where is the water?” Sakura questioned, noticing her hands were empty.

“I drank it in there. No sense in taking a cup into my room and falling asleep, you know?” Sayaka ran a hand through her hair quickly. “Good night!”

“Good night,” They both waved back at her.

^*^

Sayaka slipped the knife under Makoto’s pillow and glanced around the room. He had a trashcan similar to hers, only it was empty. Indeed, after she got her kitchen knife, she took her DVD out of the player and wrapped it up, throwing it in the trash. She never wanted to lay eyes on it ever again.

“I’m sorry...” She whispered over and over again to herself, trembling as she etched out a secret message using Makoto’s notepad. She had to do this. She had to escape. And who better to kill than pompous Leon Kuwata himself?

She despised him. Who would miss him? And if things turned south, she had enough muscles to fight him off. More people were likely to believe her anyway.

Sayaka still couldn’t stop her trembles as she slipped the note under the door and sat back down on Makoto’s bed, waiting for him. She tried to take deep breaths. Across from her, on the shelf, was the golden ornate sword the two of them found together. Her heart fluttered; he really did take her advice and take it back.

Originally, she had tried to go to Celestia for comfort, but she only opened her door a crack and told her she should stop being so trustworthy towards others. 

“You came to me because you believed we were friends, did you not? Because you assumed I loved you. I am terribly sorry to say this, but I do not like women in the slightest,” Celestia had sighed. “You should be careful,”

And then she had slammed her door, right in Sayaka’s face. That last line almost sounded like a threat. She had bitten her lip and trudged back to her own room then.

She nearly jumped at the sound of a door knocking, just barely managing to rise and open it.

“Kuwata-kun!” She gasped in surprise, blushing heavily. “Come in,” She offered him a sweet smile and silently closed the door.

Leon glanced around. “So, this is your room, huh? Doesn’t look the way I thought it would,”

She laughed.

“What’s with the sword?” He pointed at it.

“Hm? It came with the room, funnily enough!”

“Guess I can’t question that,” He rubbed his hands together. “So, why’d you invite me here in the middle of the night? It wasn’t just to chat, was it?”

”No, we won’t be having much of a chat tonight,” Sayaka giggled and walked back over to the bed, swaying her hips. “Instead, I was thinking the two of us could get a bit more...intimate?”

Leon’s eyes practically popped out of his skull. Why wouldn’t they? He was about to have sex with her, Sayaka Maizono, most beautiful and desirable girl in probably all of Japan, who had tons of illicit pictures of her circulated around constantly. Who wouldn’t want a piece of her? He had practically been begging since day one.

“I like that reaction,” She started to slowly slip her thigh-highs off, letting him stare at her long, milky legs.

“Come on, let’s just skip all that striptease shit and get to the good part,” Leon suddenly grabbed her and pushed her down onto the bed, making it squeak as he pinned her down. She made her breasts heave as she blushed heavily.

“I was hoping you’d be more gentle,” Sayaka managed to tease as he tightly grabbed her wrists.

“That’s not my style. Maybe if you beg for it,” He pulled her blouse off with ease, pulling down her bra and revealing her large, rounded breasts. She blushed heavily and tried to shrink away as he squeezed and kneaded them. “Damn, they’re so big,”

Sayaka just nodded, thinking of just closing her eyes and letting Leon do whatever he wanted. Originally she had planned to seduce him and get him in a good, easier mood before she jumped him with the knife, but it seemed that wouldn’t happen any more.

She longingly glanced back at the pillow behind her, did Leon somehow figure out her plan and purposefully sabotage her?

No way. He’d have no way of knowing.

She bit her lip and squirmed around slightly at his rough squeezing, pulling on her nipples.

“Kuwata-kun...!” Even then her voice was soft and lusty, exactly what was expected of her. He smirked at her.

”Enjoying it, huh? That’s all I’ll do for you. Now you can do something for me,”

He took his hands off and all was still for a moment as she heard a belt unbuckle and a zipper unzipped before he was on her again, a limp member placed in front of her face.

”Well? Get to it!” He directed, placing a hand on the back of her head as she nodded slowly and very carefully slipped it into her mouth, closing her eyes as she sped up.

This was wrong, all wrong! What if he just left her after they were done?! Then her whole entire plan would be ruined! She felt herself start to tremble as she fit the whole length in her mouth; not from that fact but from the whole entire situation.

She felt Leon place his hand on the back of her head and nearly cried, going faster in her sucking as he ran his hands through her hair.

She didn’t want him to touch her hair, she didn’t want him to touch her breasts, and she most certainly didn’t want him to shove himself inside of her, which was inevitable at that point.

Finally, Sayaka felt him harden in her mouth and she quickly pulled away, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

“Now we can get to the fun part,” Leon smirked and shoved her back onto the bed, tightly grabbing her wrists. “The walls are soundproof, so you can moan and scream as much you’d like, babe,”

 _I want to. I want to scream and have someone hear and come in here,_ Sayaka thought to herself, wincing at the pressure placed on her wrists.

He shoved himself into her, making her cry out in surprise and slight pain. He wasn’t her first, far from it, in fact, but he was all but forcing himself into her and that was enough to warrant a sting. She bit her lip as she took his whole length in and he started thrusting, going hard enough that she felt her body bounce on top of the bed.

“Kuwata-kun...” She gasped out, feeling the grip on her wrists tighten. She winced. “Couldn’t you go a bit slower...?” She was still trying to keep her sweet and cute personality going even then. Her voice sounded strained to her and she really hoped it didn’t to Leon.

“I assumed someone like you would appreciate the rougher side of things,” He thrust into her again, making her gasp in pain.

 _Please stop...._ She trembled, not being able to voice it. If she did, he might not listen to her anyway. And if he did, he could run off and tell everyone else she was a whore.

_What was wrong with that? Better to be known as a whore than as a..._

__

__

_....Murderer..._

Sayaka flinched when he cummed into her, her expression dark. He sighed and redressed himself, running a hand through his hair.

“Not that good, but still better than I expected,”

Sayaka nodded and very slowly sat up, wincing at the aching between her legs. It was a familiar pain, but for some reason it was intensified that night. She managed to pull on her own clothes, glancing at the pillow and thinking of Makoto. She thought of her groupmates, laying on the ground unconscious. Monokuma’s metallic laughter ringing hollow in her ears.

“Oh, before you go,” Sayaka stopped him. She subtly slipped her hand under the pillow and grasped the knife, feeling the familiar wood of the handle.

“Yeah?” Leon turned back around, looking eager.

“I had something else I wanted to talk to you about.” She stood up and suddenly rushed at him, revealing her knife. “I get to leave if you die!”

”The fuck?!” Leon’s thinking was quick as he grabbed the sword off its display rack and held it in front of his face, blocking her knife. She gasped a bit and still tried again, still getting blocked.

“Stop it!” She cried. “Just let me do this! I _have_ to do this!” She thought of her groupmates and the tears welled up in her eyes again.

“You’re crazy!” Leon shoved her off when she tried to lunge again, slamming her into the table. It toppled over from her weight. “You think you can just attempt to murder me like that?!”

Sayaka said nothing, trembling a bit before she attempted to lunge at him again. This time, he blocked her with the blade of the sword, hitting her wrist hard.

“Nng...!” She dropped the knife as a fiery pain erupted from her wrist; even adjusting her skirt sent huge waves of molten pain through her wrist and arm.

Desperate, she dashed for the bathroom and threw the door open, leaning against it with her weight as she heard Leon bang on it with his fist.

“First you try to kill me, and then you try to hide by locking the fucking door?! You’re going to be sorry. You’re going to be real fucking sorry later, I guarantee that! You’re a liar _and_ a slut! How would you feel if I told everyone you open your legs at will? Huh? I bet you’ve already screwed every other guy here, that’s why you went after me, huh?” He pounded on the door again and tried the handle, making it turn around and jiggle in the lock. “Still locked..I’ll be back, you bitch. And then you’ll be sorry,” He stormed off, and Sayaka just sobbed and clutched at her wrist in response.

It had turned red and started to swell by that point, poking through her tight sleeve. She marveled at the fact it even still had gold dust on it from when she was hit with the sword.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

That much was clear. When Leon got back and kicked the door down, he’d just finish the job on her, she knew that for a fact. He wouldn’t rape her, he had already done that earlier, so the next step was to just kill her.

Her wrist burned and her crotch ached and her heart hammered and her blood pounded and her tears fell. She couldn’t die, not like that.

 _Maybe he’s forgotten all about you..maybe he’s gone back to bed..._

Sayaka froze when she heard the sound of a screwdriver hurriedly unfastening screws and looked at the door, seeing the handle widely twist around.

“He’s come back and now he’s going to kill me...” Sayaka sobbed to herself. She heard the soft sound of urine splashing on the floor, but barely registered it.

The handle unscrewed and nearly fell over, prompting her to quickly back away from the door closer to the shower. She just stood there, trembling, nursing her broken wrist as Leon finally shoved the door open.

“I told you that you’d be sorry,” He was holding the knife she got from the kitchen and Sayaka felt her eyes widen as he backed her up into the shower.

 _He’s going to kill me...he’s really going to kill me..._

There was a burning pain in her chest as he thrust the knife right into her stomach, making her gasp. She collapsed into the shower stall, her trembling starting to cease. She searched Leon’s eyes for any sign of remorse, but she couldn’t find any. She couldn’t find any emotion in his eyes at all.

“Nng...” Blood fell from her mouth as she tried to speak, and she realized with horror that she truly _was_ dying, that she had been killed. The awful smell of iron began to surround her as a bloom of blood stained her crisp white outfit, pouring out fast. It was warm and it would’ve made her squirm if she had the energy, but she had none.

 _Naegi-kun...I’m sorry you couldn’t keep your promise to me..._

Sayaka recalled the story of the crane bride she was so fond of. As a child she secretly dreamed of finding a husband like that; one who helped her out and thus she would help him in turn. If need be, she’d even give up her life for him, just like the crane did. She left him wifeless, but with great riches and treasure.

Sayaka once thought, only a few days ago, that perhaps Makoto was her future husband. The one he’d save, and that she would save in return. He had helped her out a lot, comforting her, and the only thing she had done in repayment was try to frame him. She was a terrible crane-wife-

No. She still had one last chance. If they ever had a trial for her death, if they ever questioned her disappearance and saw her, wondering who did this to her, she could tell them.

She managed to gingerly dip her left finger into the warm blood, her stomach threatening to turn at the strong scent of iron. Leon was still standing over her, so she slowly wrote on the wall behind her. The pain in her wrist was more of a numb sensation by then. Leon was named after that famous baseball player, right? The one who always has his name written in English because he thought it looked cooler? Did she still remember how to write it like that?

Her finger traced out the last letter; the ending of the ‘n’, and fell limply at her side. The blood had stopped flowing as profusely, and she closed her eyes, feeling dizzy from the loss and the overwhelming iron smell.

 _Goodbye forever, Naegi-kun. I only hope I was a good crane wife for you._

She sighed lightly and felt darkness finally envelop her warmly.

Sayaka Maizono was no more.


	6. Chapter 1: We Just Want to Survive; Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mukuro weighs in on her thoughts about the Killing Game, the first motive, her classmates, and Junko. Everything is going according to plan, just as Junko said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person's POV

Mukuro sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror of her bathroom. She didn't sleep much that night, but she hardly ever slept anyway. She was used to functioning with little sleep.

The first motive...was it successful? Junko had assured her it would be. She remembered setting it up; gathering up any information they could about everyone's loved ones and secretly kidnapping them and throwing them into danger and filming the results. Oh, it was hard. Some were fighters. Some ran. That's why it was given to her; the fighter, the soldier, the tracker.

Of course, her own video was different. _She_ was different. She was the special one and just received a video of Junko flipping her off with a grin. If anyone asked, though, she'd say it was of their parents. Short and simple. The majority of her classmates loved their parents and their siblings, so they'd understand and not press the issue.

Still staring at herself, Mukuro pulled her wig on over her short black hair and adjusted it, fluffing it out and making it look as real and bouncy as possible. She peeled a few gem stickers out of their sealing and blinked as she placed them on under her left eye. The size difference of the gems didn’t really matter, right? She slipped the hair accessories in next, then pulled on her usual clothes. Her disguise, actually. No way she would normally wear such things purposefully. Junko knew that, that's why she dressed her like that.

Her nails still looked fine, so she instead applied mascara and lipgloss and a bit of powder, sighing as she stared at her transformed figure then.

"I'm Enoshima Junko..." Mukuro mumbled to herself as she cleared the makeup away. She was expected to join them at breakfast. She'd go, but they couldn't actually make her eat. She'd just eat her meal in her room as she always did.

Her room was incredibly bare-bones; she didn't even have the pink sheets that was expected of her, just a tan bedspread. She rarely used her room anyway, so why did such frivolous things matter? Nobody else had even seen her room except for Junko, and Junko didn't care.

All Junko cared about was this whole game of hers going off without a hitch. She could do that. It was almost kinda sad how everyone trusted her as much as they did. Wasn’t it obvious she was lying? Junko was pretty, far more prettier than she could ever hope to be, with no freckles or blemishes or unsightly tattoos. Junko had a far larger bust in comparison to her own near-non-existent one, Junko had clear blue eyes in comparison to her own dark purple ones, and Junko had a slim and delicate frame, fit for a model, unlike her, in comparison to her unhealthily thin and bony frame; muscles being the only visible thing under her skin.

Mukuro wasn’t a vain person, not at all. She was just an observant person and thus couldn’t help making observations about certain things, like the multitude of differences between her and her younger sister.

She walked into the cafeteria and saw several students already there, staring at her; she had them pegged on day one as ‘honor roll’. The early-risers, the ones who followed all the rules and attended all the classes and arrived everywhere earlier. Brainwashing couldn’t fix everything, she assumed.

“Hey! Sorry, I had to redo my makeup this morning!” She flashed everyone her usual grin and a peace-sign. “Hope you weren’t waiting long!”

”W-We weren’t,” Chihiro reassured her with a smile.

“Yeah, you’re not really that late,” Makoto said.

“You sleep with your makeup on?” Aoi asked instead with a curious look on her face. Mukuro laughed.

“Just my lipgloss! Anything else would bleed onto my pillow and trust me, that’s a mess I don’t wanna deal with,” She played with her hair as she talked.

As they waited for everyone else to file in, Mukuro preoccupied her time by simply staring at Makoto.

He chose to spend free time with her a few days ago and as a subtle thanks, she promised she wouldn’t kill him. She meant that. No matter what ended up happening in this game, she’d protect Makoto. During their Opening Ceremony, their real one, he gave her a smile that nearly made her falter. Nobody had ever smiled at her like that before.

She slipped her hand into her pocket and felt the kitten barrette he had given her as a present. She didn’t like it all and would never wear it, but she’d keep it anyway. He gave it to her, after all.

“Where's Maizono-chan?” Aoi spoke up, looking around the room. “She’s not here,”

”Have you seen her?” Mondo asked Byakuya, walking into the room. Byakuya just gave a smirk in response.

“Maizono? No. Why would I? I came straight from my room to here,”

“You think she tried to skip? She did the other day,” Hifumi wondered.

”She made herself our unofficial leader and always followed through on her schedule. Therefore, I highly doubt that,” Kyoko said.

Could it be? Was it possible?

“I’ll go check on her!” Makoto announced before suddenly dashing from the room.

Mukuro leaned back in her seat and tried her best to seem disinterested. Maybe Sayaka really did skip breakfast, or slept in.

Suppose she was dead though. They’d have to plan a trial for her, then, wouldn’t they?

Mukuro’s eyes subtly scanned through her classmates, trying to think of a possible suspect. The less suspicious they are, the more despair they’d likely bring to Junko upon being executed.

Five minutes passed, then ten. Finally, Kyoko herself stood up.

“I’m going to go check on them,” She announced, starting to leave.

“Oh? Feeling awfully reckless, are we? What if you walk into a trap?” Celestia tittered.

“I can take care of myself,” Kyoko insisted.

“Then I’ll go with you as backup, dudette! Safety in numbers, and all that,” Yasuhiro walked over to her, and Mukuro surprised herself by standing as well.

“Like, I wanna go too! This cafeteria is drab anyway. I wanna see some excitement!” She grinned and followed after them. Kyoko walked much further away from them, while Mukuro found herself walking alongside Yasuhiro.

"Reminds me of when we first explored through the school," He said to her, making her giggle.

"Yup! The two of us were together!"

"But why'd you pick me?"

"Simple. 'Cuz you make me laugh,"

Kyoko strode right over into Makoto's room, heading inside. Yasuhiro paused in the doorway, and Mukuro huffed in annoyance as she pushed her way in.

"What's got ya so shocked?" She demanded, pausing at the state of the bedroom. "OMG, like, what happened here?!"

Kyoko didn't answer and instead kneeled beside Makoto's body, checking him. "He's alive, just passed out."

"Dude, I'd pass out too if I saw this!" Yasuhiro stepped further into the bathroom and nearly screamed himself. "A dead body!"

"Oh God, someone really did kick the bucket?!" Mukuro feigned terror and shock in her voice. "Who's next!? Who did this?"

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma's voice piped up, and then his image appeared on the monitor. "Everyone, head to the gym for further instructions,"

"No way am I going to do anything that creep says!" Yasuhiro protested. "He could've done this, and now he's trying to get us all in one location to finish us all off!"

"I agree!" Mukuro announced just for show. In reality, her mind was working.

Sayaka Maizono was the first one to die. Surprising; she was their leader and extremely kind. Who'd want to off her? She knew it wasn't her or Junko, but that still left fourteen other possibilities.

"No. Monokuma is our jailer. If we resist any of his orders, who knows what'll happen to us. For us, I think it's in our best interest to do as he says," Kyoko said, standing up. "Please help me carry Naegi-san to the gymnasium,"

"But...but!" Yasuhiro tried to protest, only to be silenced by Kyoko's stare. "Yes ma'am..." He gingerly scooped Makoto's unconscious body off the ground and placed it carefully on his shoulders, giving him a piggyback ride.

Mukuro said nothing, just followed after them.

There were obvious signs of a struggle. Whoever killed Sayaka...she put up a good fight against them. Her mind started going through the possibilities again.

Certainly not Chihiro or Aoi. They were both too sweet and kind to even consider such a thing. In that same category, she'd also place Makoto. The sheer fact he fainted upon seeing her body was proof enough he didn't do it. Yasuhiro, certainly not. Kiyotaka, no, he was a rule-follower to the dot. Also probably not Hifumi. Sakura, maybe. Junko specifically chose her as their mole, though it was still a bit early to play that card. Byakuya, also maybe. He was the one who kept suggesting for everyone else to kill. Touko, she wasn't sure about. She only ever saw the other girl at breakfast, and Touko barely said anything unless someone bothered her. Kyoko, maybe, but somehow Mukuro doubted that. Kyoko wasn't that sort of person. Her top suspects were either Leon, Mondo, or Celestia.

After everyone gathered in the gym, Mukuro stood slightly further away from them, anxiously playing with her hair to create the illusion she was just as tense as they were.

Once Junko gave the signal, she'd have to act all pissy and upset over having to participate in a Class Trial. She'd be locked in a prison as an example to whoever else wishes to rebel, and everyone would be kept in line. Junko had gone over the plan so many times at that point Mukuro had it memorized.

"What happened? Where am I?" Makoto woke up suddenly with a gasp, placed on some bleachers. Several people turned to look at him as he started to get up and tried to run off again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Byakuya demanded.

"M-Maizono-san...I have to go see if..."

"She's dead. Looking at her again won't change that fact,"

"You're in the gymnasium. We brought you here after you passed out," Kyoko explained instead.

"Why? Why is everyone else here too?" His eyes scanned the group.

"Monokuma told us to come here. As much as none of us wanted to listen, I told them all to do so anyway. He's our jailer and could do terrible things to us if we resisted,"

"W-Well...I don't think we should listen to him anyway! He was the one who killed Maizono-san!" Makoto accused, finally standing up. Mukuro widened her eyes slightly.

"I didn't kill her," Monokuma's voice rang out from the speakers, though once again, he was nowhere to be seen. Mukuro always thought her sister had a flair for being overly-theatrical. "I would never do that. I always follow the rules and therefore cannot directly interfere in your lives. That means I couldn't kill any of you,"

"I don't believe that...who else could've killed her?"

"One of you did, naturally."

The room fell silent.

"B-But why? W-Who would do such a thing...?" Chihiro sobbed.

"You should not underestimate the things other people are capable of," Celestia boredly played with her hair. "Clearly, someone became desperate to escape and killed her,"

"I can't believe one of us could be a murderer...!" Kiyotaka cried.

"That's only assumin' this guy is tellin' the truth, which I highly doubt!" Mondo grumbled.

"Like, why would he lie? What would he have to gain from that?" Mukuro finally chimed in, her hands on her hips.

"Whoever the killer is gets to graduate, right? That's what you said." Byakuya spoke up. "You aren't going back on your word, are you?"

Monokuma said nothing for the longest time before he suddenly broke out in maniac laughter.

"Walk out of here unharmed? You really think I'd let you do such a thing!? Where would the fun in that be?!" He laughed harder.

Mukuro stared at her nails, awaiting the signal as he gave a rundown of how exactly a Class Trial would work and how the killer would be found out. Finally, she glanced up and winced.

"Like, you're totes crazy if you think I'm gonna participate in this!" She cried. Likely overselling it a bit, but it's what Junko wanted her to do. "Get killed if I guess wrong? Watch someone else die? No thanks! You're just a crazy bastard, and you can't make me do this!"

"Think you can defile me? If you do, only punishment awaits. Maybe I'll leave you to rot in a dark prison or something," Monokuma threatened, finally appearing out from behind the podium. Everyone jumped aside from her.

 _Finally. I was starting to get worried you wouldn't make an appearance,_ She thought to herself before balling her hands into fists.

"Say whatever crap you want, I don't care!" She huffed. "I'm leaving, and you can't stop me!"

Monokuma flashed a sharpened paw at her, huffing himself. "If you want to escape, then try me."

"I'll gladly do so!" Before he could charge at anyone else, Mukuro rushed at him, knocking him down and stepping harshly on him, standing over him. Anyone who glanced up at that moment would get an eyeful of her black panties. "Ha! You ain't so tough now, are ya?"

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly forbidden. You know this, yet you still continue to defy me and even physically lay a hand on me," He began. Mukuro waited, feeling everyone's eyes on her. For once, she felt proud of herself for agreeing to this trick. It'd be all worth it in the end, to see the despair on their faces once they saw her fall into the trapdoor, only to emerge safely again after the trial was over. Yes, it'd all be worth it-

Several spears shot out of the floor, impaling her in several spots and making her tremble from the pain. Blood poured out of the wounds and from her mouth as she felt her lungs begin to fill.

"H....Huh...?"

_This....was wrong. Everything about it was....wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen..._

"I...I wasn't supposed....to...die..." She choked out, coughing. The blood was warm and reeked of iron; she wasn't squeamish about blood, but what she _was_ squeamish about was the stigma behind it. Every soldier knew it was bad luck to ever see their own blood, let alone be covered in it.

_And she was coated in her own blood._

She could feel her life already being drained away, the spears starting to numb, but there was still a piercing, sharp pain in her heart regardless.

_You promised. You promised. You said we'd always have each others' backs. You said that. You made me swear to that. I was with you every step of the way, planning this game out with you, making sure it wouldn't fail. Neither of us were supposed to die._

Especially her. Mukuro wasn't supposed to be killed off, not like this, not as early as she was. The spears were beginning to retract from her body, and she felt her eyes shoot open in despair and realization.

She could never trust Junko at all.

Mukuro collapsed to the floor, dead.


	7. Chapter 1: We Just Want to Survive; Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first trial begins as Leon is convinced they won’t find any evidence on him. He disposed of it all, and he killed in self-defense. So he’ll be allowed to go free, right...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV
> 
> Trial time! I’m really not looking forward to writing any of the trials because they’re in formats that are hard for me to transcribe in my usual writing style, so I decided to write each trial in a different way matching how I think the person being tried would’ve reacted to such a situation, if that makes any sense. Like Leon’s is written this certain way where it skips a lot of dialogue, but the Chapter 2 murderer’s is written where it’s almost entirely dialogue and inner-monologue for example. But that’s all I’ll say about that~

"W-What...?" Makoto blinked.

Hifumi screamed.

"Oh God," Aoi covered her mouth in terror.

Chihiro covered her mouth as well, her face turning from blue to white to green before she finally hurled right on the ground, collapsing to her knees afterwards.

"You're kidding me!" Leon couldn't stop the exclamation from coming from his mouth either, staring in disbelief at Junko's mangled corpse. It was covered in blood. Is that what would happen to him if he confessed?

Actually, it didn't matter if he did or not, did it? His classmates would just figure it out at some point sooner or later anyway because of that stupid trial bullshit.

He sure as hell wasn't about to give them any leads though. If they had to solve the crime, then they'd have to solve it themselves. He cleared away his tracks perfectly. And it's not like they had an Ultimate Detective hanging around, did they? Just a bunch of random useless talents in a situation like this. He'd be safe. If they couldn't figure it out, he was free to leave, right? What did Monokuma call it? 'Graduation'? Yeah.

"Now you understand, don't you? Anyone who tries to defile me again...will have _that_ to look forward to," Monokuma snickered, motioning to Junko's body.

Leon felt his face pale. It wasn't his first time seeing a person die; he had killed Sayaka only that previous night, drove the knife right into her and watched her bleed out, but that was different. That was self-defense. She had it coming. Junko...Junko was just acting on her feelings, saying out-loud what they were all thinking, and got in trouble for it.

Got _killed_ for it.

He nervously gulped and ran a hand along his neck.

"You already know who the murderer is?" Kyoko was speaking then, questioning Monokuma.

"Of course I do, I saw the whole thing happen from my security cameras. What kind of a judge would I be if I couldn't even condemn the right person?"

"I feel a little bit better at that..."

 _Then why have the trial at all?! If you already know..._ Leon wanted to scream at him, managing to bite his tongue at the last second. Wouldn't do good to get super upset here....still...

Now Kyoko was suggesting they all work together to uncover the culprit...as if he'd help them! He was just going to lock himself up in his room and wait the whole investigation period out. They didn't need everyone helping out anyway, right? Just one or three would do, like in those crime dramas his uncle always watched that Kanon enjoyed mocking because she found them tasteless and dramatized. God, he wish he paid more attention to them now.

"I say we move forward with the investigation," Kyoko finished calmly, glancing away.

"Huh? Already?" Makoto asked in surprise. "But what about-"

"What is the point of fussing over someone who is already dead?" Celestia sighed, playing with her hair boredly. One hand was randomly placed on her stomach. "They are dead. We cannot do anything for them, and trying to mourn just wastes our valuable time,"

"You're horrible!" Aoi spat out. "How could you not care that one of our friends and classmates just got killed right in front of us?!"

"Oh? I was not aware she was a friend of yours," Celestia tittered. "Besides, I have said it before and I will say it again. People who do not adapt here, die here. She got exactly what she deserved for stepping out of line,"

"That's still a terrible thing to say!" Aoi accused.

"We have more important things to spend our time doing," Kyoko cut in, interrupting the girls.

"Exactly. We have a menace to hunt down," Byakuya laughed to himself. "Things finally got interesting."

"I don't want to do this...but I suppose it's our only way to avoid execution, huh?" Aoi sighed.

"Exactly. Regardless of our own true, individual feelings on the matter, we all must participate," Sakura nodded.

"Yeah! Ain't nobody fuckin' executing me!" Leon announced before pausing, his eyes growing wide. Shit, he didn't mean to say it like that! His words echoed overhead, but nobody seemed to take notice.

"First things first. We should talk about preserving the crime scene," Kyoko began before Aoi awkwardly raised her hand.

"Um, I promise this'll be the last thing, but...what should we do about her? We can't just leave her out here in the open..." She pointed to Junko's body, which had finished bleeding out.

"Here, just to stop you all gawkin' at her," Mondo walked over and pulled his leather jacket off, placing it nicely over her body. "There. She's a chick, and even in death she deserves some respect,"

Kyoko waited for him to walk away before continuing. "We need to place someone on lookout to make sure nobody, especially the culprit, messes with the crime scene. Who would like to volunteer?"

Nothing much to mess with anyway...

"I'll do it. I ain't good at detective shit or whatever, so..." Mondo volunteered instantly.

"What if he's the culprit and tries to destroy the evidence? That's why he asked for the job in the first place," Byakuya smirked.

"W-What?! Screw you, dude!"

"Then I shall stand watch too. That eliminates any chance of that happening," Sakura stepped in.

"A two-player battle between Lady Oogami and Sir Oowada...an intimating match!" Hifumi adjusted his glasses.

"Oh? I just read something very interesting on the Monokuma File," Celestia gasped in surprise, a smile forming on her face.

"What is it?" Makoto asked curiously, walking over to her.

"It says the crime happened in your room,"

"Hey, you're right!" Aoi read her own file.

 _His_ room? But didn't Maizono-chan say it was her room?

Leon frowned a bit in confusion. Already nothing was adding up. If they guessed him, he died, but if they guessed Makoto...

"Don't you wanna investigate?" He asked Chihiro instead, who was trembling and looked close to tears.

"N-No...I'd feel sad over leaving Enoshima-san here all by herself..." She declined.

"Maybe it's best you didn't. You might hurl again," He tried to tease. "You pregnant?"

Chihiro said nothing and bit her lip.

"How about you, you wanna help?" Leon tried asking Touko, who was nibbling on her thumbnail anxiously.

"N-No...I don't think I should...I-I have problems with blood. Everytime I'm around it, I feel like I'm going to p-pass out..." She explained, glancing at him. Leon felt ready to throw his hands up.

"Yeah, it's not like you'd be much help anyway," He snapped. He just wanted a girl to spend time with and help him forget his inevitable demise, was that really so wrong? "I'm leavin'," He announced to nobody in particular, leaving Makoto alone to face the suspicious stares of the students who chose to remain.

He shoved his hands into his pockets again as he walked through the hallways. Nothing else to do while he waited for the investigation to commence...maybe he could just take a nap. Investigations usually lasted for hours at a time, right?

When he arrived at the hall where their dorms were, however, he noticed Makoto reaching his hand over to grab the doorknob of a dorm.

His own dorm.

If he went in there, he'd find his unwrapped toolbox because he left it out on his desk after breaking down the bathroom door. All the other guys said they hadn't even used their toolkits the other day...Makoto probably already knew that.

"You don't need to go in there!" He suddenly shouted, diving in front of Makoto. He stepped back in surprise. "I didn't have anything to do with this, you know? I mean, you don't need to search every single person's room just to find the culprit, you know? That's an invasion of privacy!"

"S-Sorry..." Makoto blushed a bit and stepped back more. "I just thought...can't be too careful, you know?"

Leon glanced up at the nameplates as Makoto turned to leave, staring specifically at Sayaka's and Makoto's doors. Sayaka's was a bit crooked...strange. All the others were on perfectly straight.

"Those nameplates look weird to me," He said, and Makoto glanced back at him to show he heard. Leon then sighed a bit and walked off again once he saw Makoto vanish into Sayaka's dorm. He'd be in there for a while. He still couldn't take a nap, but he was too riled-up to even think about sleeping anymore.

That was far too close of a call. He had a sudden urge to retrace his steps and make sure everything had truly been disposed of properly.

He headed over to the trashroom and glanced around inside, placing his hands on the locked gate.

Inside was the shattered glass ball he used and part of his shirt sleeve that fell out of the incinerator.

"Shit!" He announced. If they were investigating, surely they'd come across that at some point too. True, there was no hard evidence that it was his; it could belong to anyone, but who else could throw that ball so far with so much ease?

Stupid ball. He found it in the laundry room the previous night when he was still covered in blood and looking for a way to open the incinerator up. He couldn't reach his arm in there and he couldn't ask Hifumi for the key because that'd be far too suspicious. All he had to rely on was his baseball skills, and therefore he took advantage of that for once.

As for the shirt sleeve...well, the majority of the class were wearing white shirts, most were just covered by their jackets or hoodies. Sayaka was the only one who wasn't wearing something like that over hers, and she obviously wasn't going to be seen as a suspect in this case.

Sighing, Leon headed back to the dorms, trying to think of what else he could do. It was still too suspicious to outright ask for the key now, but maybe he could try tricking Hifumi or something...

"Yamada-san-" He started to call out, seeing him in the middle of having a conversation with Makoto about being the one currently on trash duty. He rolled his eyes a bit. He didn't want to wait any longer than he had to.

"I just picked the job because nobody else would want to do it, and I considered myself a worthy fit for the job! I've always wanted to help others out!" Hifumi boasted, and Leon couldn't stop a snort from coming from him.

"No way, you're lyin'," He laughed. "You wanted trash duty so you could pick through the girls' garbage, that's the real reason, right?"

Hifumi gasped, genuinely looking offended. "Absolutely not! Sir Kuwata, I am a true man of my word! I'd never do such a thing to the girls here!"

Leon could see the lie in his eyes; he definitely went through at least one girl's trash. "And the thing that you're truly after....is-"

"If it's such an issue, then why not have Oogami accompany any other male who has trash duty from now on?" Byakuya interrupted them.

"N-No! That's definitely not okay either!" Hifumi cried.

"Well, if you're not doing anything weird, then what's the big deal?" Leon demanded, slipping his hands into his pockets. Hifumi just whimpered as he walked away, leaving the group alone again.

Everyone already thought Makoto was the culprit. Maybe if he milked it enough, they'd just vote for Makoto and not him....! Then he could graduate, right? He'd be free to leave the school forever....

He paused.

Something about that thought made him feel extremely anxious and depressed. He couldn't just throw Makoto under the bus like that. No, he couldn't throw the entire rest of his class under the bus like that. Leaving the school wasn't worth that, they hadn't done anything wrong. He was the criminal, he should get punished.

But Leon wasn't stupid enough to just openly admit to the crime right then and there. If they all thought it was Makoto, so be it. If any of them were smart enough to put the pieces together and realize it was actually him, then so be it. But he wasn't going to help them out in either way.

Monokuma's voice filled the speaker system, telling everyone it was time for the trial to begin.

Huh? Already? He thought investigations took a super long time because of eliminating suspects and all that. Was he really walking aimlessly around the school for at least an hour?

Didn't matter. He headed down the halls again, arriving at a dark red door that made him swallow sickly. He pushed it open and found several of his classmates standing there already; they paid him no mind.

Well, why would they? To them, Makoto was the guilty party, and he himself was just another unwilling victim caught up in all of this. He stood over by Celestia and Mondo and remained quiet, not having anything else to say. Makoto and Kyoko were the last two classmates to arrive, and Leon stared at Kyoko curiously.

Why'd she take her sweet time coming over? Was she one of those girls who insisted time stop so they could put their makeup on or whatever?

Everyone slowly crowded into the elevator, taking steps back for more room and so that nobody would be shoved against another. Once everyone was in, the gates shut with a loud locking noise and the elevator noisily traveled down, rickety and loud.

"I feel like I'm a prisoner on death row or something," Makoto admitted quietly, making Celestia titter.

"You _would_ assume something like that, seeing your current circumstance," She smiled sweetly at him.

Leon said nothing, glancing up at the ceiling. His face felt like all colour had drained from it and his organs all felt ready to fall out at any given moment. The elevator traveled merrily along. What would be on the other side? And how much longer did they have to wait, anyway?

Soon, the elevator clacked to a stop, the gates unlocking and revealing a large room decorated in jade green and royal gold. The floor almost felt like fake grass in a way....and the actual room's size was shaped kinda like a....

Baseball diamond...?

He shook his head. His paranoia was making him imagine things. Sure, Monokuma had already flat-out admitted he knew he was guilty, but Monokuma wouldn't just toy with him like that, right?

"Find the seat with your name on it," Monokuma stated, sitting up on a throne-like podium.

That was easy enough, he supposed. He found his own seat next to Celestia and Touko and stood there. The podiums were all organized in a circle, making it impossible to look right or left or straight-forward without looking at someone else. Leon was almost afraid to look behind him in the fear there was someone there too, staring.

Nobody really seemed to be looking at him, which was good. Most were either trying to look away or just stared down at their feet. Leon found his own eyes stuck to a funeral portrait of Sayaka, done up with ribbons, her portrait crossed out with a pink-painted 'x'. He shivered.

"What are the point of these?" Kyoko spoke up, pointing to both hers and Junko's portraits.

"It's not fair to be left out of things just because you are dead," Monokuma said. He then went on explaining how the actual trial would work, sitting back once everyone's questions were answered.

The trial was free to begin....

Leon glanced down at his own shoes, realizing it was the only angle he could stare at without looking at someone else. Everyone talked around him, but he refused to chime in. He felt if he did, he'd accidentally blurt something out incriminating. No, he'd leave this to them.

The murder weapon...a dagger...a knife...why did it matter?! Couldn't they obviously see it was a knife Sayaka got killed with? It was one of the kitchen knives she stole and wanted to kill him with until he spun it around on her.

"We get it, the murder weapon was a knife! What's the point of talkin' about it endlessly? Naegi-san is still the killer and he's trying to divert your attention from that fact!" He said.

Perfect. That'd get their attention.

"Y-Yeah...she was found dead in your room. T-That's all the proof we need," Touko huffed.

"The point of this trial is to determine the true culprit through the evidence given to us. Deciding on a culprit right away defeats the purpose of why we're even doing this," Kyoko said. She caught him staring at her and gave him a small smile.

Who did she think she was, some kind of detective or something...?!

"Yeah, you can debate it all you want, but that fact won't change. He's still the killer, no matter how you try to spin it!" He still tried, putting in his final word.

"You never know." Kyoko said with some finality in her tone.

Fine. Whatever. They still had no concrete evidence to pin on him.

......

"Whoever the culprit is took extreme precautions that Naegi-san wouldn't have in his own room," Kyoko looked over at Makoto. "Isn't that correct?"

Shit, they were referring to the fact he had cleaned away all of his hair, weren't they?

If he hadn't done that...well, then it would've been obvious, wouldn't it have been? Nobody else in the class had red hair, let alone as vibrant as his own.

"Also the fact that the bathroom door was broken in," Makoto added.

"You still coulda done that. If you wanna break a door down, then you will," Leon jabbed.

"Except that I knew my door wasn't locked, it was just broken and you had to jiggle the knob. Only I and Maizono-san knew that," Makoto said.

"Which means the culprit is someone who wouldn't have known that," Kyoko said.

"S-So...it's not Naegi-kun...?" Chihiro asked in surprise.

"Hmph. What a pity..." Touko huffed.

Indeed.

"Maizono-san and I switched rooms...but how did the culprit get in in the first place? I'm pretty sure both doors were locked," Makoto thought about it.

"Maybe the key just fell out of her pocket and the culprit grabbed it," Leon suggested. It wasn't entirely implausible, right? And he needed to keep milking this for as long as possible.

.....

Kyoko was holding the damn note. The note he found slipped under his door the previous night that she wrote, inviting him to her room for a chat. Oh, they did way more than _that_ , alright. But just a note couldn't prove anything, right? Just that she intended to kill him. And he acted in self-defense. Yeah, it wasn't technically murder, just him acting in self-defense.

And she switched the nameplates. That explained why the one with her name seemed so crooked and off when he saw it earlier.

That bitch...!

"...Maizono-san broke her wrist when the scabbard was used against her," Makoto said, making Leon glance over at him in annoyance.

"Yeah, well how'd you know that?!" He demanded.

"The gold plating on her wrist. It's also the reason why she couldn't have used the sword for self-defense...because her hands are clean. And the water turns off at night, so she wouldn't have been able to clean them off,"

Leon inwardly winced at that. He recalled the gold plating that rubbed off on his own hands when he grabbed the sword and how careful he had to be to not touch anything excessively lest it rub off.

Still, at least they were starting to get it. All of this started because of her. She attacked him first, she was the one who couldn't be trusted!

Besides, they were all out of clues and leads. Leon could see it in Makoto's eyes; hopelessness. They'd all get in trouble for giving up, and he could just walk right out of there, scot-free!

"There's one more clue left we could use...what about Maizono-san's dying message?" Makoto asked suddenly, making Leon look over at him.

"Dining..?" Now he just wasn't making sense.

"Not dining, dying. She wrote these numbers behind her on the wall in her own blood," Kyoko explained. "Likely a clue to the culprit,"

They looked familiar....kinda like...

"They're just numbers, right? So couldn't that computer chick be able to help us?" Mondo looked at Chihiro, who got a thoughtful expression on her features.

"They d-don't mean anything. I've put in as many combinations as I can possibly think of and they don't do anything, they don't lead to anything...it's just jibberish as far as I know," She relayed.

"That's because they aren't numbers. They're letters," Kyoko said.

"O-Oh! I can see it now...! The last one looks a little bit like...'N'?"

"Church chick strikes again!" Mondo grinned.

"If you rotate the numbers to a certain degree, you'll see they were inversed, and that they actually spell out a name," Makoto said. "And the name it spells out is...Leon! Kuwata-kun's name!" He pointed a finger right at Leon, making him scoff. Did he think he was in some kind of video-game?

"S-So? That doesn't mean anything. It's written in English, right? So maybe you're just misreading it. All English looks the same, right?" Leon found himself protesting, clenching his hands into fists. "It's just a coincidence it looks like that,"

"It's not. The image is inverted, as I said. Try writing something like that sometime and it'll come out looking like this message does," Kyoko crossed her arms in front of her chest.

He pursed his lips together and mimicked her pose. "You're just sayin' stuff now because you ran out of evidence! You just wanna claim me as being the culprit because you're jealous! Yeah, you're jealous that I got to bone Maizono-chan and none of you got to!" He yelled, inwardly wincing afterward.

Shit, he didn't mean to say that out-loud! The majority of the class didn't seen to care or even notice his outburst, but he saw a few staring at him with various expressions on their faces; Makoto had confusion, Mondo had disgust, and Chihiro had...envy? Huh, guess for being a huge church freak, she was also a major lesbo. Should've seen that coming.

"If you aren't the culprit, then why did you attempt to dispose of evidence?" Kyoko continued, staring at him then.

"What are you on about now?"

"The culprit attempted to destroy evidence by burning it away, but part of their shirt fell out of the incinarator. A piece of a white cuff,"

"B-But just that shirt alone can't determine he's the culprit, r-right? Lots of people here wear white shirts," Chihiro pouted.

"Yeah, she's right! You can't accuse me on that basis alone!" Leon said.

"Maybe not on that one, but there's more evidence. Like how the culprit got into the incinrator in the first place," Makoto said.

"Oh, just because it was locked, you're saying it just has to be me, huh?" Leon knew he was starting to lose his cool, but he couldn't help it. "Why don't you ask the only person who was actually able to get in there with their key; the actual person on trash duty!"

Hifumi chuckled for a few seconds before suddenly shrieking. "I-I wasn't the culprit! I know that for sure!"

"No, it wasn't him. The state of the room proves that...not to mention the glass ball Naegi-kun found shattered on the floor," Kyoko explained.

"Technically, it's a crystal ball," Yasuhiro sighed.

"B-But it's a far distance away from t-the buttons to the gate...to throw something like t-that would be nearly impossible," Chihiro said.

"Y-Yeah!" Leon tried to chime in. "Jesus girl is right,"

"Difficult, yes. But impossible? No. Not if you were the...Ultimate Baseball Player. Isn't that right, Kuwata-kun?" Makoto stared straight at him, making him falter and nearly step right off his podium.

He couldn't take this anymore...no, he had to try and calm himself down. Just screaming at people would only prove their point even further-

"I think a distance that great would seem like nothing to someone of your atheltic capabilities," Celestia tittered, looking over at him.

....

"Fuck you! Fuck all of you! I'm not the fuckin' culprit! You're still graspin' at straws, all of you! Every single one of you! You're all just a bunch of morons with chicken-shit for brains!"

"You still won't admit to your crime?" Kyoko asked levelly, staring him down calmly. "There's still one more piece of evidence left against you...you know what it is, don't you, Naegi-kun?"

Was it possible she was referring to his...

Fuck her! Fuck that cocky bitch and her know-it-all smirk!

"The door to the bathroom was broken down by removing the screws out of the doorknob. How would you remove screws?" Makoto asked.

"With a screwdriver, obviously..." Mondo said.

"And there was one that came in our toolkits!" Yasuhiro remembered. "Only one though,"

"And the culprit thought he was still in Maizono-kun's room, so he went all the way to his own room to get his own toolkit!" Kiyotaka announced.

"B-Because he knew only u-the guys were given toolkits, so he didn't think there'd be one in there," Chihiro finished.

"And mine shows no sign of being used...so whose toolkit was used?" Makoto glanced around. "Why don't you show us yours, Kuwata-kun?"

"Huh? No way! I don't have to do anything you guys tell me to do, and I don't have to listen to any more of your fucking bullshit! Because that's what it is, fucking bullshit!" He swore at them. If they saw his toolkit, they'd find the wrapping thrown away and the screwdriver gone because he placed it in another drawer.

"And using an excuse like you lost it won't work," Kyoko warned.

....

"And with that, I do believe we are finished here, seeing as how he has no more further objections." Celestia boredly played with her hair. "Thank goodness for it too, my feet are starting to hurt me greatly," She placed a subtle hand on her stomach and another on her back, stretching herself a bit. 

"Everyone vote for who you think the culprit is! Using that switch in front of you," Monokuma announced. Large red levers that resembled the ones you'd see at a casino were revealed when the tops of their podiums opened up. He caught a sudden chill as he saw both Touko and Celestia on either side of him give him proud smirks as they pulled their levers down. "You all guessed correctly! The culprit is...Kuwata Leon-kun!"

Leon felt himself start to tremble and shiver from the sudden cold.

"Kuwata-kun...why..? Why did you kill Maizono-san and...do those other things to her?" Makoto asked slowly, walking over to him.

"How could you?! She was a friend of ours! Practically our leader!" Aoi cried.

"You fuckin' son of a bitch...it's not enough to had to kill her, but you raped her too?! I should slice your head clean off for that...!" Mondo growled.

"I-It wasn't my fault!" Leon suddenly protested. "She was going to kill me! She went after me first! What else was I supposed to do?! I just happened to get the wrong end of the stick! I don't know why she targeted me, but she did...but she could've done the same to any of you! Any one of you could've been in my position!" It all started pouring out, and it felt oddly theraputic. Just spilling exactly what had happened between them. "Besides, I didn't actually rape her or whatever..."

Why did that even matter? They already saw him as an actual murderer, so why did it matter if they thought he was a rapist too?

Mondo continued to glare at him.

"What did you want me to do?! Stand there and just let her kill me?!"

Leon glanced around to see if he could see any pity or sympathy in his classmates' eyes, but he mainly just saw disgust, confusion, or pride.

"We've prologned this long enough and everyone is waiting. So, let's get ready to punish Kuwata Leon-kun!" Monokuma said, chuckling lowly.

Shivers ran up Leon's spine and he felt his heart plummet down to his feet. "A punishment...? Like...e-execution?" He ran his hand along his neck, hating how weak and meek his voice sounded. "B-But..I didn't even intend to kill her! It was all in self-defense! _She_ came after _me!_ "

"Oh? And what is your defintion of self-defense, exactly? You walked all the way back to your room to get your toolkit and willingly broke down the door. You had numerous oppourtunities to stop what you were doing, and yet you did not. You intended to kill her. You likely intended that from the very start," Celestia said, her red eyes boring deep into him. He shivered.

"But I did...! It was either her or me!" He thought about how easily and quickly she pulled out the knife and how agile and fast she was on her feet at first. It was something she had been clearly planning for a while. And he needed to do her in right then and there; otherwise, she would've just regained both her strength and composure resting up in the bathroom and come after him again, likely when he was asleep so he couldn't fight her off. He was almost doing them a favour, in a way.

Shit, was that _why_ she wanted to do him? Like one of those female assassians in those movies he always saw where she'd fuck him and then kill him while he was asleep. Did Sayaka have the same idea in mind? Seduce him then pick him off when he was still resting up?

"I must say, this little tidbit must be the hardest on you. After all, you were the one who was closest to her out of all of us, Naegi-kun," Celestia tittered. "I will never understand relationships like that,"

"Come on, come on, we've talked enough...let's move onto the...execution! I have a special one for Kuwata-kun!" Monokuma announced gleefully.

"Execution?" Leon felt the feat return to him and he pawed at his neck, trembling. He had murdered someone, so maybe hanging? A firing squad? What would it be? Whatever it was, surely it'd be quick and private, away from the eyes of his classmates. He could handle a firing squad, even hanging. He could handle that.

A silver collar attatched to a chain shot out suddenly, wrapping itself around his neck. He choked and gasped in surprise, anxiously trying to claw away at the collar, feeling one of his nails partially break off from the effort. The chain dragged him away suddenly, making him choke from the effort and speed. His feet dragged across the floor as he thrashed around, being dragged down several corridors and halls.

Soon, he came to a stop and was chained up to a long thick pole, letting him look around briefly.

Everything looked familiar....the scoreboard, the fence, the pitching machine-

Oh fuck no. No way. They couldn't really, could they? He braved a glance at his classmates and found them all standing behind the fence, pale and frozen with anticipation for what was about to happen. They wouldn't really, right? Not with his classmates standing right there in full view, it was all some kind of cruel, sick joke.

The pitching machine suddenly whirred to life, being set to high, and all Leon knew from there on out was endless, numbing pain. He started screaming at first, and his pained, hollow, desperate screams would echo off the empty metal walls and haunt the current audience for as long as they lived. After a few seconds, the pain became too great to even allow him the pleasure of screaming, and soon the only sound there was was the splattering of his organs and blood, the smacking of his flesh, and the cracking of his bones.

His bones cracked. His bones cracked. His bones cracked.

Every sound was amplified a thousand fold in the metal, echoey room. Once the actual event stopped, it continued on playing in their minds for minutes more. When the gates opened and revealed the body, nobody made any move to look closer or take it down.

And that was what it was; a body, a battered, unrecognizable, almost-shapeless hunk of meat instead of their classmate Kuwata Leon. Just a nameless corpse.

They could still hear his bones cracking and the metal from his clothes raining down on the concrete floor.

Silence rippled through the class as they tried to process what they had just witnessed.

"And things will only get worse from here-on-out if you don't learn to live here together with everyone, forever! Otherwise, that could be _you_ in that position!" Monokuma snickered, parodying Leon's own words.

"You're full of mysteries and double-meanings," Kyoko stared at Monokuma instead, completely composed and collected. "What did you mean by 'everyone'?"

"Why would I tell you this early on in the story?" He shot back, vanishing.

Everyone remained there for several hours, quietly freaking out in their own ways. Touko anxiously tried to look away, twisting her hair around into tight knots. Byakuya's eyes were wide. Celestia's hand was at her mouth, her own eyes wide. The other hand was planted on her stomach. Both Aoi and Chihiro begun to cry heavily; Chihiro even falling to her knees. Sakura looked at them in sympathy, at a loss of what else to do for them. Makoto was as white as a sheet. The most surprising reaction came from Kiyotaka who managed to clear his throat and tried to take a few steps away from the scene before promptly vomiting on the floor.

They all tried the blink away the images; sounds; smells. Every single one of them stood motionless and blank, horrified or dead expressions in their eyes.

The only thing that roused them back to life was Monokuma's nighttime announcement, and even then, they took on the appearances and movements of corpses themselves. If anyone was asked to describe the overwhelming emotion felt in that room that night, they would all answer the same:

Despair.


	8. Interlude: Gossip Forum 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the first few episodes are broadcast to the nation, everyone is shocked by what they see. They instantly start talking about it on gossip forums, chatting about their theories, favourite characters, taking bets on who's going to die next, all that fun stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend wayyyy too much time on gossip forums to possibly be healthy, lol But when I read them I keep thinking...what would one for the Danganronpa universe look like? What would it look like if these people had to watch their favourite celebrities kill each other? I bet they'd find that pretty rad! Hence these little 'interludes' were born. After every trial, we'll check in on what the general public thought of that particular string of episodes...and that's pretty much all these are for haha

_WaffleLover: Anyone catch that recent episode last night?_

_hotnready: sure did_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: OMG, talk about gruesome. They literally stoned him to death with baseballs. The heck's up with that?_

_steponmeibukimioda: Kinda got what he deserved, I think. Kinda funny how his execution was related to his talent though._

_WaffleLover: Come on, we're here to discuss theories on the characters, not their fates. I saw Kuwata-kun's death coming from a mile away._

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Gotta admit, me too. He just had that 'expendable' quality to him, you know?_

_Peepz: I bet u guys ¥¥¥ one of those chicks is knocked up_

_hotnready: oh, definitely_

_steponmeibukimioda: What makes you guys think that?_

_Peepz: Bunch of teenage girls, bunch of teenage guys, all in one tiny school together, no supervision, accident babies just waiting to happen_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: I wonder what the next motive will be. Dirty secrets?_

_Peepz: Then we'll know for sure which chick is pregnant!_

_steponmeibukimioda: ....what is with you and pregnant girls?_

_Sayuri Sazumi: So far, I'm really loving Asahina-chan. I love her carefree attitude and those doughnut earrings are so adorable!_

_Peepz: Togami-san for me, though I get the feeling someone like that will get killed off easily in a game like this. You know, because he's a huge jerk and everything?_

_steponmeibukimioda: On that note...Celes-san, all the way. I gotta root for the foreigner of the group. Besides, my other favourite...died..._

_WaffleLover: Er, I like Naegi-san I guess. Private school students, where you at?_

_hotnready: i think my younger brother goes to the same high school he used to_

_WaffleLover: Ask him what it's like to attend the same school as a current television star!_

_Peepz: Here for my daily dirt session; Celes-san isn't really foreign, Togami-san is estranged from his family, Kirigiri-san is pregnant, and Fukawa-san is gay. Anyone got anything else to add?_

_steponmeibukimioda: Uh, I read somewhere Enoshima-san was super abusive to her older sister? Does that count as dirt?_

_WaffleLover: Not surprised at all, she seems like a huge manipulator. You don't get that famous and that influential and that pretty without having hurt several people along the way. Other than that though, she's not noteworthy. Basically just a slutty blonde whore with fake tits. Next?_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I went deep into the Internet for this one, but I found an old middle-school picture of Fujisaki-san from when they attended one of their first programming camps. See? See?  
uniformattachment.jpg _

_Peepz: What about it? Looks like Fujisaki-san to me but with way longer hair,_

_Sayuri Sazumi: The outfit! The outfit! They have a tux on!_

_WaffleLover: Girls wear tuxes sometimes. I heard it's a popular trend in the United States for dances and things like that._

_Sayuri Sazumi: I'm trying to say that I don't think Fujisaki-san is truly a female! I think they're a boy!_

_Akiko: am i the only one who thinks kirigiri dyes her hair?_

_steponmeibukimioda: If she's pregnant, she can't_

_Peepz: She's probably not_

_hotnready: um you can dye your hair while you're pregnant??? who is saying you cant_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Ugh does Celes-san really have to say every twenty minutes she's French-German? Who cares? It doesn't matter, you're just trying to make yourself feel special. Even if you truly are, you don't need to announce it._

_Akiko: her accent sounds fake as hell im just sayin_

_Cupcake Emily: I know I'm a few days late but OMG MAIZONO-CHAN IS DEAD?! NOOOOO! SHE WAS MY FAVE!_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Found this really cute picture of Asahina-chan with her younger brother!  
attatchment1.jpeg_

_Peepz: Also gotta love how this dude sees his cousin getting raped then proceeds to rape another chick_

_Cupcake Emily: I don't think he intended for that to be rape; anyway I'm so upset she died! I was loving her positive bisexual energy!_

_WaffleLover: Anyone have a full list of the students' former high schools? I did some digging myself and came across a few, but not a ton. I know Dusk High School obviously, and Sixth Black Root High, and Green Hills High School. Anyone else got anything?_

_Peepz: That's super specific stuff you're asking for there. Can't you tell where they're from by their accents?_

_Cupcake Emily: I think she's asking because you can tell a lot about what a person is like by their old high-school. Like, Naegi-san's old school tells us he's got some money in the family._

_Peepz: Are we even sure that's a private school? He wears a uniform_

_hotnready: my brother goes there now and it is definitely private no uniforms but you still are required to dress really nicely_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Fujisaki-san's is St. Albandia Academy; my cousin's boyfriend goes there_

_Sayuri Sazumi: A Catholic school?! Doesn't look the type_

_steponmeibukimioda: A few days late but like...I think I might love Kirigiri-san now, she has a good vibe and attitude and now I'm terrified she's a bad person or going to be killed off because she's super mysterious_

_Akiko: welcome to the 'we love kirigiri' club_

_hotnready: so im really the only one with a soft spot for fukawa? okay then_

_Akiko: yeah probably tbh_

_Sayuri Sazumi: OMG what if Asahina-chan is the one pregnant? I think she would make a wonderful mom_

_Peepz: Yeah, she'd make a good mother and Naegi-san would make a great father....hint hint_

_Akiko: he wouldn't know what sex was if it was walking down the street_

_WaffleLover: Don't you dare taint my darling!_

_Cupcake Emily: Since Maizono-chan is dead now, I guess...I don't know. I'm not sure who I wanna root for now. Fujisaki-san? Just because she's pansexual though_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Do you guys remember that part in the third episode when she makes that little shrine in her room and just prayed to it all night? OMG I felt so bad for her then, I wanted to give her a hug_

_steponmeibukimioda: Guys we've just been talking about the girls..the boys need some appreciation too!_

_Peepz: I literally said Togami-san was my fave four pages ago girl_

_Tsuniki:_ **Since this topic has exceeded 1,000 posts, it will now be locked. Please continue discussing here!**


	9. Chapter 2: A Boys' Life is Like a Jungle; Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the fact three students were killed just the other day, life must go on for the students of Hope's Peak Academy. Celestia in particular isn't very happy about a recent discovery of hers, despite the fact the school seems awfully accommodating for the situation. Hifumi feels bad for Chihiro and wishes to make the lovely programmer smile again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhh boy, now we get into the most controversial and dividing chapter in the entire first game. Half the fandom says this chapter is transphobic, half say it's a good dissection on toxic masculinity, and others don't care either way and just take it at face value. It's one of my favourite chapters and I was really excited to rewrite it. I don't wanna get into spoilers about what I did, but I'll say this: the outcome is the same, but the path that leads there is darker and more unsettling. 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV 
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person's POV

After the trial, everyone just sat around in the cafeteria, doing and saying nothing. Makoto was the last one to arrive, looking more pale and disheveled than the rest of them.

"She's....gone...all of it....just...gone..." He mumbled under his breath in disbelief.

So what Monokuma said was true, then. Hifumi supposed it made sense on a technical level; you couldn't just leave dead bodies lying around to rot constantly! It'd upset everyone else.

Still...it felt disingenuous. As if Monokuma was only doing it as yet another subtle way of trying to mock them...or something. His mind really wasn't on its usual A-Game that night. Oh, he knew _why,_ of course. Hifumi Yamada wasn't a fool. He just played at one, sometimes.

"Sure...what happened happened, but...we can still work through this! We just have to work together, you know? And beat this Mastermind at their own game!" Aoi perked up, smiling at Makoto. "We can all do it together!"

Leave it to Aoi, the neverending source of perkiness, to try and cheer everyone up. She was such a stereotypical 'genki' type, but there wasn't anything wrong with those types. They were cliche for a reason!

"And you really think that would work?" Byakuya glared at her. "We were already 'working together' before, and look what happened. People still died,"

"Y-Yeah...it's all Maizono's fault that this happened..." Touko bit on her thumbnail.

"Well....that doesn't mean we should just give up! We're going to need to work together if we have any chance of beating this Mastermind!" Aoi pouted at Byakuya.

"This isn't some kind of endless ninja comic, this is real life," He shot back.

"Maybe it is..." Hifumi offered weakly.

"I think laying low and do whatever is requested of us is likely the best option for us at the moment," Celestia spoke up. Hifumi quickly looked over at her. "Think about it. This Mastermind has managed to completely infiltrate Hope's Peak despite the security, remodel it to suit their own needs, provides us with everything we need, and that's not to mention that execution," She leaned in slightly. "I think defiance would be very bad indeed."

"Now you're starting to sound like Kirigiri-san," Aoi sighed.

"I...I can't," Chihiro whispered inbetween her sobs. "I...I don't want to..."

"You don't want to what?" Byakuya stared her down, making her fold up.

"....Kill anyone! I-I can't do that again!" She suddenly cried out. "I can't stand the t-thought of living if it means someone else has to die..." She put a hand on her Rosary. "I...I should've gone instead...."

"'Again'? Who'd you kill before?" Yasuhiro asked curiously.

"Kuwata-kun...! He died because we all voted for him!" She cried harder. "We're _all_ murderers....we _all_ have to live with that blood on our hands..."

"If we hadn't voted for him though, we all would've gotten executed instead," Aoi reminded her gently. "Would you have been alright with that?"

Chihiro trembled slightly. ".....W-We couldn't even mourn them...we had to watch t-them die, and we couldn't even pay our respects..." She gripped her Rosary tightly. "...I just can't stand the thought of them all alone...unable to receive e-eternal life..."

"You shouldn't blame yourself for this, Fujisaki-san," Makoto added. "The real menace here is the Mastermind. That's who we should we afraid of, and that's who we should be upset with,"

"He's right, anymore self-deprecation and you'll become a true masochist! There's only so much you can take!" Hifumi said quickly.

_Unless Madame Fujisaki is into masochism..._

He shook his head. No way! He should not be thinking of such things at a time like this! Madame Fujisaki needed his help to cheer up, and cheer her up he would. That's what the perfect guy would do, right? He'd make her another milkshake, a nice strawberry-vanilla one this time. She really seemed to like that strawberry one he made for her a few days ago.

"Before you go to bed for the night, I just want to leave you with these words of wisdom. Self-justification is a very heavy cross to bare, you know. Always accepting the blame for things you do, for the things other people do. It's enough to ware someone down. Just know that you are always capable of making your own choices and as a result, accept full responsibility for everything you do," Monokuma waved to them on the TV screen. "Well, good night then,"

"T-The hell?!" Touko demanded.

"Fuckin' bastard, sayin' whatever the hell he wants," Mondo grumbled.

"That's a lot to take in," Yasuhiro sighed.

Wait, it was time for lights-out already? But the milkshake! He wanted to make a milkshake for her!

"Madame Fujisaki! Tomorrow morning, would you-" He asked, pausing when he caught sight of her eyes. Dull yellow-grey, like the sun behind rain clouds. The gloom and grey was more pronounced this time, and his words caught in his throat.

"I'm s-sorry...I don't think I'll b-be seeing anyone t-tomorrow," She hiccuped before walking away. Hifumi nodded slowly in understanding.

"Me neither, Madame Fujisaki. Me neither,"

^*^

A new place had opened up after their Class Trial, and they would continue to do so for every Class Trial they had experienced? It was almost like a video game in a way...

Celestia subtly frowned to herself. House arrest was still house arrest, no matter what you were allowed to do. And her current situation was definitely more reminiscent of house arrest, like when the Romanovs were monitored everywhere they went and weren't even allowed to speak in German, French, or English, only Russian. Or how Marie-Antoinette was escorted everywhere in her tower and wore rags, receiving no privacy even when she relieved herself. It was very much the same there.

"Do you think that means there's a way out?!" Aoi asked in excitement, but Celestia shook her head at her.

"That is highly unlikely," She sighed and played with her hair, a hand on her stomach.

"Surely it'll be something cool though, right?" Yasuhiro asked hopefully.

"Regardless, it seems we all must do another search through the school," Sakura said, and the students started to disperse into groups.

"Oh, Celes-san! Why don't you go looking around with Fujisaki-chan and I? It'll be like a girls'-only thing!" Aoi ran up to her in excitement.

Celestia stared at Chihiro curiously, who was staring at nothing at the wall. Despite her ugly exterior, Celestia had to admit to herself that there was....something that drew her to her. Perhaps it was the challenge of cleaning her up and teaching her manners. She subtly winced and put her hand on her stomach again.

"If you insist,"

"Yay! Us girls gotta stick together, right?" Aoi addressed Chihiro nicely, who jumped a mile in the sky.

"Y-Yeah, I guess...s-safety in numbers..." She blushed heavily and looked away.

Once Aoi and Chihiro had run a few paces ahead of her, Celestia allowed herself to wince more openly and put both hands on her stomach.

".....Energetic today, aren't you?" She sighed.

She would never forget the horror and disgust she felt their first night when she undid her corset for sleep and discovered a sizable swell in her stomach. Not a tumor, not cancer, something far, far worse in her eyes.

She was pregnant.

And how? With whom? She hadn't slept with any man there, the only man worthy of that honour was Byakuya, and even then, nothing had happened between them because he seemed to despise her for no particular reason. She wasn't one for sleeping around either; only to get what she wanted, and that was when she found she was glad for accessible abortions.

This child, though....had been in her for far too long. If she made an estimate, she'd say around eight months....almost fully-grown.

_She was only about six months along, wasn't she, or maybe only five, but regardless there was blood all over the emergency room and it reeked of iron and they were sobbing over their own stupidity and nobody noticed how you fainted on-sight because they didn't care about their living daughter, they only cared about their stupid dead ones-!_

Celestia bit her lip and composed herself, slowly walking after Aoi and Chihiro, who naturally hadn't managed to make it very far. She would look suspicious standing around in the gym all day anyway.

Upon making her little discovery, she knew she had to take even more precautions and hide it even better. Pregnancy was unflattering. She wore thick black tights to hide her legs and laced her corset tighter and loosened the ties on her own dress to hide the large swell. She couldn't hide the cravings, but nobody said anything. Nobody said anything about her bump either, so she figured that was hidden well too.

She placed her hands in front of her stomach and carefully climbed up the stairs, gasping in surprise.

"I know! We can use the stairs now!" Aoi laughed, running up them. Her skirt bounced around slightly to reveal the magenta shorts underneath.

"I do not think anything of interest will be up here though. I would prefer something classy, like an art room," She woke up in a rec room, she remembered that. At least she had that to look forward to, though when it would be unlocked she had no idea.

"I just want some exercise equipment...or a pool!" Aoi said.

"A-A computer lab? Though I guess we already have the AV room downstairs..." Chihiro titled her head slightly. "Maybe a library...? I-I like reading..."

"So do I. I suppose if I must have the choice, a library would not be a bad alternative," Celestia nodded in agreement. She held her stomach again and nearly gasped in surprise again as her baby kicked again several times.

"I-Is something wrong?" Chihiro asked nicely, her hazel eyes shimmering in concern. Celestia smiled sweetly.

"I am not used to climbing up several flights of stairs. Exercise is not really a lady's forte, you see," Her baby kicked again and she dug her hands subtly into her skirt.

_Stop kicking! Stop being so hyper! This had better not be some sort of implication that your father is some low-class athlete._

"I smell chlorine! You know what that means!" Aoi gasped, darting over to a set of purple-painted double-doors. She threw them open and ran inside, gasping again. "It's filled with pool stuff! And there's gotta be a pool behind these doors!"

"You are truly entertained by the simplest of things, are you not?" Celestia sighed. A pool....not at all her thing. Besides, wasn't it highly frowned-upon for pregnant women to swim or something? She glanced up at the ceiling and noticed a huge Gatling gun placed there, aimed at the pink and blue doors. She put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I wonder whatever that could be there for? Perhaps to dissuade the men from trying to watch us change?"

"That thing is really creepy," Aoi shivered. "If someone got hit by it, that'd really injure them,"

"U-Um...I'm pretty sure it'd kill them," Chihiro flinched, looking down at her shoes. Celestia watched her curiously.

"Yes, you figured it out, I placed that Gatling gun there to shoot down anyone who tries to use the wrong changing room! They can only be accessed by using your E-Handbook, and two people cannot enter the changing room at the same time!" Monokuma explained over the speaker.

"O-Our E-Handbooks?" Chihiro turned hers on, holding it close to her body and staring intently at something on the screen.

Makoto walked over to them, smiling. "What did you guys discover?"

"A pool! There's really a pool here! A pool! Can you believe it?!" Aoi cheered. "A real-life pool!"

"Y-Yeah...I assumed they likely had one if this place is a school...almost all schools have pools," Makoto laughed awkwardly. "Have any of you tried it out yet?"

"I'm getting ready to! I've gone far too long without swimming!" Aoi said. "Oh! But there's other cool stuff too! There's exercise equipment in the changing rooms too! I'd like to try that out too, maybe with Sakura-chan,"

"E-Exercise equipment? T-That sounds nice," Chihiro looked away shyly. "I-I don't think I'll swim, but I'd like to work-out..."

"Really? You don't seem like the type interested in that," Makoto said. Chihiro stared at him.

"B-But...I'm shy about going into the changing room..."

"Why? You don't really like changing in front of others?"

"S-Something like that..."

"I must admit, even though something like this is far from my personal taste...it is still quite nice to think that we get rewarded for our Class Trial participation with new rooms. It is a bit like living in luxury. I think I would not mind a Class Trial every day if it meant things like this," Celestia tittered.

"Anyway, I'm ready for a swim! Who wants to join me?" Aoi asked eagerly, looking from her to Chihiro.

"S-Sorry...I can't....I don't really like wearing swimsuits," She trembled.

"Hmph....what about you?"

"I do not like getting my face wet, as it ruins my makeup," Celestia gave her a sweet smile.

"Come on, you two! Live a little! Swimming is always the answer!" Aoi pouted.

Celestia continued to smile sweetly as she walked away, subtly trailing after Chihiro. Chihiro gave no notice she was being watched and instead wandered into the library, loudly gasping.

"A laptop! I-It's really a laptop!" She said in amazement.

"Naegi-kun and I found it...it won't turn on despite being plugged in, so I suggested you might get a better use out off it," Kyoko explained.

Celestia's eyes widened. Chihiro was a programmer, right? Or a hacker, whatever. It mattered little to her. What _did_ matter is that a programmer could likely code some sort of program to figure out where they were and how to escape, right? One of her old boyfriends was a programmer and thus she assumed it worked that way.

She then headed down to the cafeteria, assuming everyone else would meet there after their respective search parties were over. She managed to use the bathroom and place her hands in front of her stomach again, sitting down at the big table and waiting for the rest to arrive.

Everything they found...the pool, obviously, more classrooms, which were of no use to them anyway, a library, a communal bath and sauna, which Celestia perked up at, and a warehouse full of different items like clothes and snackfood.

"Yeah, but that stuff doesn't mean jackshit to us when we're still trapped in here!" Mondo yelled. "So we basically found nothing of use!"

Oh contrary. "Now now, you should not scold others for their progress. Always belittling others over the simplest things that they do will get us nowhere," She tittered.

Everyone quietly dispersed over that, heading for bed, while Celestia headed to the warehouse secretly and searched through the racks and bags of clothing.

_I do not actually need it...I am just searching..._

She found a small box pushed near the back simply labeled 'baby' and with a hesitant hand, ripped the tape off the box and pulled it open, taking in the plastic smell of new and unworn clothes.

_They are...maternity outfits?_

She searched through them some, finding almost all of them to be modeled to her own taste and aesthetic. She felt a shiver go down her spine and tried to suppress it.

_Obviously the Mastermind would know of my current situation, they are watching me at all times, are they not? Still...I cannot deny wearing a maternity outfit would be far more comfortable than this old dress of mine,_

Still hesitant, Celestia pulled out a nice-looking outfit, the most elegant one she could find, and got herself dressed in it, still marveling over how much the Mastermind had thought of. Surely they couldn't be that bad of a person, right?

A new pregnancy corset designed to feel comfortable yet completely hide her bump. Black supportive tights for her legs and feet, as well as soft, lined red heels that looked identical to her current pair. The dress was a roomy and tight black gown devoid of any decoration aside from a silk ribbon in white tied around her waist. The dress was the same length as her old one, and the high-necked collar and ruffled sleeves were completely sheer and see-through. She also wore plain black sheer gloves with the outfit. Afterwards, she placed a small gold crown on her shortened hair and fluffed the dress out, feeling an urge to spin around in it.

_I truly feel like a new woman in this..._

She folded up her old outfit carefully and placed it back in her closet, wanting it to remain pristine. She might need something new to wear after she gave birth, after all.

She admired herself in the mirror for several minutes before bed, pursing her lips and doing elegant poses. One truly could not tell she was pregnant at all.

As she started to turn her lights off for bed and lock her door, she glanced up at the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway.

"Who is there?" She called out, receiving no answer. She paused, waiting silently for the footsteps to come back, but they did not. Suppressing another shiver, she locked her door and went to bed, not sleeping for a while due to the constant kicking and movement of her child. Celestia put her hands on her stomach.

_My child...._

She finally fell asleep in the unknown early hours of the dawn.

^*^

A strawberry-vanilla milkshake for the cutest girl he knew, Madame Fujisaki!

She only drank a third of it before shuffling away to her room, anxiously tugging at her collar. Her eyes looked dead.

What else could Hifumi possibly do for her?


	10. Chapter 2: A Boys’ Life is Like a Jungle; Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Kiyotaka find themselves being made to take care of two fellow classmates who fall under the weather despite no proper access to medicine. Kyoko weighs in on her thoughts afterwards, trying to figure out who and what she is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

^*^

A new floor had been unlocked, and Sakura had already made sure everything was searched thoroughly. No new way out, and the excitement that had been roused by the thought of exploration quickly died down once everyone realized that fact. At least now she had a better idea of what the Mastermind planned to do. After every Class Trial, a new level of the school would be unlocked.

She hated how comfortably she settled into that realization. She hated how comfortably everything seemed to feel lately.

And that last Class Trial...she was told if anyone didn't murder someone after a week, even with a motive, she was to take care of that to get the ball rolling, as Monokuma told her when he pulled her aside the night they received their first motive. It had nearly been a week at that point and she was feeling anxious and concerned. She couldn't actually kill anyone, she never could. Everyone here she cared for deeply, even if they didn't like her. She was just that type of person.

But Sayaka and Leon had taken care of that for her. She hated how thankful she was for it; she shouldn't feel thankful at all, they lost three of their classmates all in one day. Junko was punished for being insubordinate, but that felt....strange. Too quick, in a way. She liked Sayaka, even liked Leon despite all of his faults, and just like that, they were both just...gone. She had no clue where their bodies were taken, Monokuma refused to tell her. Maybe just burnt up in the incinerator, or tossed into the trash pile and left to rot. She wouldn't put either of those past him.

A new rule had been added overnight while they slept; no lending your E-Handbook to anyone else. She assumed that was to prevent people from trying to get into changing rooms that weren't theirs, but she didn't think any of the remaining students were that curious or desperate. Monokuma must just be trying to cover all his bases.

The thing currently on her mind that morning, however, was the fact that two students were currently missing from breakfast; Hifumi and Chihiro.

Hifumi wasn't much of a surprise, as he was one of those people who always showed up a few minutes late to breakfast, but Chihiro was as she was always one of the first people to arrive. Sometimes she arrived even before Sakura herself did.

"Maybe someone should go look for them...." Aoi suggested nervously.

"Maybe they just slept in," Yasuhiro said. "It's not that big of a deal,"

"I don't think so. They're not the type to just keep everyone waiting like this," Kyoko glanced away.

"W-Well....maybe they were murdered or something," Touko suggested, making everyone glare at her. "W-What? It happened to Maizono, why can't it happen to them?"

"That's a terrible thing to say!" Aoi accused.

"Stop. I will go check on them to make sure they are alright," Sakura rose from the table, eyeing both Aoi and Touko to make sure they wouldn't break out arguing.

"I will do the same! Tardiness like this is inexcusable!" Kiyotaka announced, standing up. Sakura nodded at him.

She didn't think they were killed, they were not that sort. However, she still had a feeling it was something more severe than just sleeping in.

"I'll go check on Yamada-kun, while you go check on Fujisaki-kun!" Kiyotaka dictated, and Sakura nodded again. Made sense, Kiyotaka was probably shyer about just barging in on a girl sleeping.

"Fujisaki-chan? Are thou in there?" Sakura gently knocked on the door.

"Mmmm..." Chihiro's weak voice came from inside.

"Everyone is waiting for thee at breakfast. Did thou sleep in, or is there something else going on?"

"D-Don't...come in...please.." She groaned weakly.

"Why not?" Sakura rose an eyebrow. "If thee is ill, I need to come in to check on thou,"

There was no sound from inside the room.

"Oogami-kun! It's Yamada-kun! He has fallen extremely ill!" Kiyotaka ran over to her in a rush, panting.

"I sense the same has happened to Fujisaki-chan, she sounds weak and will not open her door for me," She nodded in agreement. "What is he sick with? Did he say?"

"I think it's some sort of stomach virus!"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Then we need to be extremely careful. A disease like that could spread extremely easily in close quarters such as these, and we do not need anyone else falling ill. Least of all ourselves. We also do not want to raise a panic,"

"What if this is all that Mastermind's doing?!" Kiyotaka panicked. "What if they made our friends sick on purpose...!"

Sakura knew that was not the case; if it were, she would've been informed. Whatever Hifumi and Chihiro got sick with was likely in something they ate and therefore an isolated incident. Still, that didn't mean everything was alright...

"We need medicine for them! But the infirmary is closed...! What are we supposed to do?" Kiyotaka carried on.

"We will just have to make our own medicine for them. I have done it myself many times and it is not hard at all. Green tea would be a good place to start," Sakura walked off. "First, though, we have to relay to the others what happened to them,"

"R-Right!" Kiyotaka agreed, racing after her. "Everyone! Yamada-kun and Fujisaki-kun are perfectly fine! They just have a bad stomach virus!"

"Are you positive we won't get sick from it?" Celestia asked. "We live in very close quarters, so any minor disease would spread like wildifre,"

"If they are kept to their rooms and the caretakers wear masks, I do not see a problem," Kyoko said.

"At least they're not dead..." Aoi sighed in relief. "It's still terrible Fujisaki-chan got sick like that though!"

"Indeed. The infirmary is closed, but I can still make some green tea for them to drink. Perhaps some yogurt. It will help their stomachs settle," Sakura sat back down and ate breakfast with the remainder of her class, which was a mainly silent affair. Once everyone dispersed to do their own thing, Sakura and Kiyotaka rose again and headed to the kitchen to make some green tea.

"I still believe this is some kind of motive our captor came up with. After all, they're both very sick and we have no access to medicine!" Kiyotaka carried on, placing two scoops of yogurt into each bowl.

"Somehow, I believe it is just a normal bug," Sakura said, still brewing the tea. If it was a stomach virus, the yogurt might aggravate the symptoms. Did they have any activated charcoal anywhere? It really worked wonders for intestinal issues when mixed with water, but the most likely place to find that would be in an infirmary. Same with sickness masks. It seemed they would just have to do with what they had.

After the tea was done, Sakura took one tray and carefully walked with it to Chihiro's room, knocking on the door again gently. "Fujisaki-chan, I have brought something for thee. It'll help thee recover,"

There was more silence from the room before she finally heard a very weak: "C-Come in..." She nodded and obliged, opening the door and walking in. Mostly tech-related stuff, which she paid no mind to as it didn't surprise her, and it was impolite to snoop around.

"I brought thee green tea and yogurt, both will help relieve your symptoms," Sakura said, setting the tray down on Chihiro's nightstand. She took a look at the girl herself and found her completely wrapped up in her sheets and blankets, shivering and trembling. Her face was pale and covered in sweat, and her arms revealed she was bare underneath her blankets. Sakura thought she looked weak and pitiful. "Does thou need anything else?"

"...N-No..." Chihiro rolled over in her bed.

"If you say so," Sakura nodded and motioned over to the tray. "Though, if thou does require my assistance...it may be hard to get in touch with me.."

Chihiro trembled slightly and rolled back over so she was facing Sakura, her blankets slipping slightly. "C-Can I please have a bowl?"

"Yes," Sakura was already racing out of the room, heading to the kitchen.

^*^

Meanwhile, Kiyotaka was pouring more tea into a cup for Hifumi, offering it to him. "Nice to see you still have somewhat of an appetite despite your illness! That's a good sign you're recovering!"

Hifumi simply sighed, sitting up in bed and staring down into his cup of green tea. Kiyotaka couldn't tell what was on the other's mind at all and awkwardly shuffled his feet.

"I just can't believe Madame Fujisaki has fallen ill as well. It's just so unfair! The fair maiden is to never be stricken with disease! She must always remain healthy and hearty to take care of her knight when he falls!" Hifumi suddenly announced loudly, striking a pose. "I wonder what could've caused this..."

"Oogami-kun thought it was some kind of wild-roaming bug..." He thought back to a few days ago when he suddenly vomited on the trial floors and gasped. "Could it be!? Did I make everyone get sick!? I'm so sorry, Yamada-kun!"

"Oh, I don't think it was you. It was another foe, something far more deadly and dastardly..." Hifumi slowly raised his mug to his lips, considered something, and lowered it again. He set the mug on the tray and laid back in bed, leaving the blankets off due to his fever.

"Well then. I'll just take my leave. But I'll be back in thirty minutes exact to check on you again!" Kiyotaka said, marching out of Hifumi's room and meeting back up with Sakura, who finished closing Chihiro's door. "How is your patient doing?"

"She is doing well," Sakura seemed to hesitate over her words, but Kiyotaka paid no mind to it for once. She was just as nervous as he was over the literal health and well-being of their fellow students!

"Good! I just wish we had access to sickness masks,"

"I as well. But there is no point in moping about it all day. We just have to take what is giving to us and accept it,"

Kiyotaka nodded, and for the remainder of the day, the two worked hard to keep Chihiro and Hifumi comfortable and recover quicker.

And the next day, they seemed to be perfectly fine and rejoined the remainder of the class at breakfast.

 _You did good, Kiyotaka. You did good._ He subtly patted himself on the back.

^*^

That same morning, Kyoko had woken herself up early after a bizarre dream of writing in a leather notebook while laying abed with a fever that she couldn't piece together the meaning of. She wasn't the sort of person to know or care about dreams and their technical or mystical meanings; they were just images presented to a person relevant to their current life. She was under psychological stress and it was no wonder she was having mysterious yet disturbing dreams, it was a bad coping mechanism the body had sometimes.

The other night, she had a dream about drowning in a large pool of water; the water flew up her nostrils and mouth and left her sputtering and choking as she sank lower, lower, lower, reaching her ungloved hand out towards the surface, her lungs burning and her vision fading.

Most nights, she dreamed of nothing. She dreamt of nothing the night after Leon was executed. She knew she was the only one in the school who could say that.

Even before attending Hope's Peak, she dreamed very little. She was exposed to a bland lifestyle and thus knew nothing of popular culture. She recalled film noirs from the United States she was always made to watch, the reason for doing so as black-and-white in her mind as the films themselves. She recalled learning how to sew doilies and mittens for charity. She recalled cottage cheese being a staple food.

Why was she even at Hope's Peak....?

She carefully slipped her gloves back on after putting on her usual outfit and headed down to the cafeteria, knowing she was early but not thinking much of it. Sometimes she was one of the last ones to show up, sometimes she was one of the first. It depended on both her schedule and her mood. She had nothing to do that morning and felt fine.

A few other classmates were there already, but she paid them no mind. The only thing she took a note of in her mind was that Kiyotaka hadn't yet arrived yet. He was always the first one to arrive, no matter what. Whoever was second or third changed, but Kiyotaka was always first. Had he fallen ill from caring for Hifumi and Chihiro the previous day? Sleeping in didn't seem like a possibility from him, and she highly doubted he was dead.

They had been together for ten days at that point and Kyoko had them all memorized in intimate ways she doubted even they knew of. Their schedules, their preferences, their annoyances, their habits, Kyoko knew it all. She wasn't sure how she grew to be so observant and good at detecting subtle expressions and body language, but she didn't question it. Something like that would be very handy in a situation like their current one. She knew little things about the others she wasn't sure anyone else had picked up on, like how Makoto has problems with making eye contact, how Touko's uniform is heavy and layered to hide her plump figure, how Chihiro anxiously tugs on her skirt whenever a girl tries to put makeup on her, how Mondo subtly smells of heavy nicotine.

"As we wait, I do believe we have stumbled upon another problem that needs to be taken care of. See...I am dreadfully thirsty," Celestia announced, tittering. She had arrived a few minutes ago and sat at a table by herself.

"How is that _our_ problem?" Mondo demanded.

Celestia just ignored him and looked around the room, sizing everyone up for a suitable target to make her something to drink. Kyoko glanced away. Celestia wouldn't pick her or any of the girls. The poor student she chose would likely be some weak guy or friendly guy who couldn't properly fight back. Someone like-

"Yamada-kun," Celestia smiled sweetly at him, making him jump slightly. "How about you make me my favourite? Milk tea,"

"Ummm..why me exactly?" He asked nervously.

"Is it not obvious? Your appearance reminds me of an old waiter who served me all of the time at my favourite cafe back at home. He was a very kind person and you remind me a lot of him...in appearance, I should say. Therefore, you remind me of someone who knows a lot about such things,"

"If I must," He said quietly, standing up and walking over to the kitchen.

He was in there for a few minutes when he came out with a cup of steaming tea that smelled delicious even to Kyoko. She subtly sniffed the air and could detect he poured the milk in afterwards. Did it taste good that way? She couldn't recall ever having any sort of milk tea before in her life.

"You could've at least made s-some for the r-rest of us, you were in there long enough," Touko sneered.

"Sorry, but you are not my type!" Hifumi replied breezily. "You could make some yourself!"

She stared him down in response.

"You even put it in the prettiest cup you could find," Celestia praised warmly, taking a sip. Kyoko watched both her and Hifumi carefully, noticing the glint in her eyes when she lowered it. "Oh my,"

Kyoko was the only one who didn't jump when Celestia suddenly hurled the cup at the wall, shattering it loudly.

"I cannot stand milk tea like this...you are reducing the milk to the role of a mere condiment. Something that does not deserve to even be on the menu. I will only drink royal milk tea, when the milk is added in as it is brewing. It has a much more pleasant aroma as well," Celestia sighed.

"This is the thanks I get for preparing you tea like this?" Hifumi asked in a rare moment of bravery.

"I understand your reluctance to remake it, as royal milk tea is far more expensive than regular milk tea...but it is the quality you are paying for, and thus it was more than worth it in my opinion. You should not treat it as just a mere menu item,"

"Uh, but there isn't even a menu here-!"

Celestia suddenly slammed her fist down on the table and glared at Hifumi with fire in her eyes. "Does it look like I fucking give a siht?! You get your fucking ass back in that fucking kitchen and remake me my goddamn tea the proper way! Or should I just start referring to you as 'Porky' now?!" She screamed, making Hifumi tremble.

"I-I'm a pig! I'm your Porky! Oink oink!" He cried, rushing back into the kitchen. Everyone around Kyoko was staring open-mouthed at Celestia, shocked.

"Never underestimate the power of intimadation," She giggled, smiling sweetly.

"You seemed like a totally different person!" Aoi gasped.

"Shit, even _I_ jumped at that," Mondo said.

"She's nearly impossible to read," Makoto tried to smile.

"W-Well...she knows how to get things done..." Chihiro added shyly.

Celestia just smiled more and tilted her head.

Kyoko studied her carefully. Always placing a hand on her back or stomach for support, a new dress that was looser in the waist area specifically, her insitence on eating nothing but wheat toast and watermelon for breakfast...

She must've been pregnant. Her eyes lit up in recognition just as Kiyotaka raced into the room.

"Everyone, we have a problem! It's Togami-kun..he won't come out of his room. I've been ringing his doorbell for the past twenty minutes and nothing happened!" He announced.

"Could it be that perhaps he just does not want to see you?" Celestia suggested.

"Maybe he's just not in his room," Yasuhiro said instead.

"Then maybe we should split up and look for him," Makoto offered. "You know, just to make sure that...nothing bad happened to him,"

"Good idea, Naegi-kun! Split up, everyone!" Kiyotaka continued to announce.

"I believe he is likely still somewhere upstairs," Sakura suggested before everyone began to leave. Kyoko left too, climbing up the stairs to the second floor. She took notice of the fact Celestia didn't leave the cafeteria, but paid no attention to it. She finished walking up the steps and started wandering down the hallways, having a good idea of where Byakuya was.

"Do you think he's in the library?" Chihiro's shy voice reached her, and Kyoko glanced back to see the programmer standing behind her, her hands clasped together nicely and a nervous smile on her face to show off her pink-green braces.

"Yes. The other day, he..." She shook her head. "It just seems like the sort of place he'd frequent,"

"Yeah, he really enjoys reading," Chihiro thought about it. "Or more of, he seems like someone who'd read a lot. Since he's really smart and everything,"

Kyoko looked at her.

"B-But...I admire strong girls too. Like you. U-Um....y-you're very strong, and brave, and s-smart....and pretty...."

The last part was said under her breath, making Kyoko raise an eyebrow.

Makoto ran over to the duo at that point, nearly-winded after his trip up the stairs. He pouted a bit.

"Did you have the same idea as me?" Kyoko asked when Makoto approached her. "That Togami-san would be in the library?"

"Yeah...what made you think he was?"

"The things he was interested in the other day.."

Makoto nodded and walked ahead of her, pushing open the doors to the library. She kept an eye on him, but didn't follow him.

The library made her feel uneasy; with the priceless books covered in dust, the broken lighting, the heavy smell of mildew and stale air hovering around, and the mysterious letter they found when they were exploring the second floor a few days ago.

She hid her unease by simply saying it didn't seem like a room very fit for reading. That letter had been the only thing on her mind since then. 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, the school will be closed temporarily. Do not worry, as we will reopen the school as soon as it is deemed possible and safe to do so. We thank you for your continued support.'

'Safe'? What wasn't safe? She felt an icy chill drip down her back as she pondered it.

Kyoko could hear Makoto and Byakuya speaking in the library, so she peeked in herself, seeing Byakuya slowly closing his book as the remainder of their class ran in to see what had happened.

"This is where you've been all morning?!" Kiyotaka yelled.

"Dude, we were really worried about you!" Yasuhiro sighed.

"We looked everywhere in the school for thee," Sakura added.

"And what for? I was just minding my own business, reading a book," Byakuya rose from his seat and managed to look down at everyone at once.

"What were you reading?" Aoi asked curiously.

"A mystery novel. It's quite dry and repetitive, but I still thought it could be useful in a situation like this,"

"You're not going to take a mystery from that book, are you?" Hifumi asked nervously. "Take a literal page from it and murder someone, are you?"

"Of course not," Byakuya said, then smirked. "I just thought it'd be something to keep in mind,"

Kyoko glanced over at Byakuya. Was he genuinely serious? He was treating this like one big game. It was true Kyoko herself suggested they go along with whatever the Mastermind told them to do, but that was just in terms of rules and where to go next. She didn't genuinely want anyone to get killed in a situation like this if she could help it. Arrogance like that would only get someone killed, no matter what they claimed.

"B-But...you can't!" Chihiro suddenly cried out, tears in her eyes. She fell to her knees. "Killing our f-friends...treating it like it's nothing...how could you think that w-way? It's terrible...it's horrific!" She sobbed.

"Someone like you just has to agree with me.. It's all you're good for anyway," Byakuya glared at her.

"Ummmm..."

"If you have something to say, than say it. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut and stop wasting my time,"

"The fuck's wrong with you, man!? You get some kind of sick desire from bullying people weaker than you?" Mondo demanded hotly, cracking his knuckles. "Try that shit again while I'm around,"

"I'm leaving. Don't try asking me to join one of your 'communal meals' ever again. One of you might get the bright idea to slip some poison into my food, and I don't fancy taking my last meal here," Byakuya then left, not looking back once. Kyoko glared at his back anyway, annoyed.

"That guy is nothing but theaertics," Mondo grumbled.

Kyoko looked over at the desk and picked the book up, flipping through it. It was one of those 'paint-by-numbers' mysteries that became popular in the mid-nineties simply by putting shocking yet somehow still predictable twists in it. The detective was always the main character and some sort of hard-boiled, serious sort of man.

That being said, Kyoko actually recalled one of the twists in that specific book. Where and when she read it, she couldn't remember, but she did remember one of the twists.

The detective had his work cut out for him when a recent case of his was a mysterious serial killer who went around killing bullies that were bad enough to show up in each prefectures' own local news. The serial killer themselves weren't hard to find at all, but the detective also had to solve a random killing of a young lady having her wrists slit and hanged from a balcony; mimicking the killer's method of hanging the bullies from trees disembowled. The twist was it was just a copycat killer trying to test the detective's intellect, and the 'woman' killed wasn't a woman at all, just a crossdressing boy, which the detective only learned when checking the body for additional wounds.

Kyoko set the book down, feeling disgusted.

=

Nobody really felt like eating breakfast that day, which Kyoko couldn't really blame them for. Even _she_ had lost her appetite from dealing with Byakuya's high-and-mighty attitude. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him specifically to make sure he didn't upset the balance of things.

Nothing else to do, Kyoko wandered around the halls of the second floor specifically, keeping a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Everything she noticed upon first awakening in that government classroom a week ago at that point were just parts of life to her by then. The stale air that floated around and stank of mildew. The lukewarm feeling of the heater still being blown around, lukewarm because it wasn't ventilated properly and had to mix in with the cold and hot air that had been left for a time. The sputtering coloured lights that still exploded occassionally. The cleaniless and modernization of the kitchen, dorms, and bathrooms despite everything else falling apart. Even Aoi confessed yesterday that the pool still was clean and well-managed.

"This really is all just a game to you, isn't it?" Kyoko asked one of the cameras in the hallway, looking right at it. "Like in one of those family simulators...you can torture them all you like but you still keep their house clean and food on the table,"

She walked off.

It wasn't if Kyoko cared about what her classmates thought about her on a personal level, but she still couldn't help but wonder anyway. Byakuya and Touko were already on the path of being disliked by the others due to their attitudes. What did they think of her? Did they find her aloof, mysterious, cold, snobby? Because she disliked spending a long amount of time with them?

Well, Chihiro seemed to like her, at least. What did Sayaka say about her? She liked strawberries? No, wait, Chihiro said she liked people regardless of their gender and mainly fell for the personality. That explained how she listed Kyoko's supposed good qualities off and only briefly mentioned she found her pretty. What was that term called again? She couldn't remember if either Sayaka or Chihiro ever named it.

What did it matter to her anyway? Romance was something that was an anomly to her, sexual relationships even more so. Kyoko was no stranger to both girls and boys wanting to date her; girls moreso due to her previously attending an all-girls' school and her grandfather's strict rules on dating, but neither appealed to her. She was capable of caring for someone, loving someone even, but she couldn't even think past the idea of anything other than a deep friendship and respect.

Did that have a word for what she felt? Not feeling anything sexual or romantic in the slightest? She should've asked Sayaka, maybe. If anyone in this whole entire class knew, she had a feeling Sayaka was a pretty good bet, as she seemed to know lots about that sort of thing. Maybe it had to do with her being so openly bisexual and unashamed of it.

But Sayaka was dead. She couldn't ask her anymore.

Kyoko felt a shiver go down her spine and paused in her steps, looking over her shoulder as she felt a pair of eyes on her. Nobody was there. She silently stepped over and peeked behind a nearby wall, seeing nobody there either. She waited to hear the sound of footsteps, but heard nothing.

"Was that you? The Mastermind?" She spoke out-loud, not expecting an answer.

After she finished another sweep of both the second floor and the first floor, the nighttime announcement ran, so she went back to her room and undressed for bed, wearing a black sports bra and tight black shorts. She paused at her gloves and decided to leave them on that night.

Kyoko then went to bed, expecting another dreamless deep sleep.

^*^

The only light in the bathroom came from a dim green nightlight often sold to keep people alert at night and not accidentally fall into the tub or the toilet when they woke up to use the bathroom. It was plugged into the outlet next to the sink and doused everything in a low, sickly glow. Chihiro's reflection looked almost warped as a result.

Chihiro touched the reflection in the mirror, running a hand shyly along the face. It felt fuzzy. Chihiro grimaced in response.

Shaving in the dark was tricky, but it had been done before. It was almost always done that way, hiding away in the dead of night to deal with such unseemly issues, such as hair growing in the wrong place such as the face or legs, or to deal with sudden excitments that popped up throughout the day, or to apply a haphazard recoat of lipgloss and mascara to hide the red eyes and vomit-stained teeth.

Chihiro could've punched the mirror, thinking about all that. Punch it and watch the shards fall to the ground and break the reflection for good. That was for strong people to do though, and Chihiro wasn't strong.

Silently, shyly, a hand opened up the medicine cabinet and felt around in the dark and closed around a razer, pulling it out. Chihiro trembled a bit as water coated the blade and then slowly trailed down the face.

Tears soon followed.

"Our Father in Heaven, thou art good to me...I'm a good person..I'm a good person..I _want_ to be a good person...."

Chihiro's knees buckled.

"Let me be a good person...I want to be a good person...Please God...let me be good despite the fact I am a sinner..."

Hands clutched around the Rosary, prayers followed for the remainder of the night.


	11. Chapter 2: A Boys’ Life is Like a Jungle; Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mondo can’t think straight with everything that’s happened recently. His classmates getting killed off brutally, Byakuya acting high-and-mighty, and the constant reminders of his past. And worst of all, it seems the resident programmer...has developed a crush on him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing the twist of this chapter. I’m mad excited ya’ll 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV 
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

^*^

Everyone at breakfast that day seemed to be in a sullen mood, and Mondo couldn't blame them one bit. Touko bailed on wanting to eat with them, and Byakuya made a huge show of never coming again. Who wouldn't be upset after that?

"I can see it in his eyes, if he's left unchecked, that dude will most definitely kill someone. Why give him that chance? We should tie him up or something!" Mondo yelled, making Makoto wince.

"I think that's taking things a bit too far. He doesn't need to be tied up," He declined.

"Naegi-kun is right! The last thing we need in a siutation like this is an eruption of internal strife! You've seen that same thing happen during student movements, why would you wish the same for us?" Kiyotaka yelled, making Mondo inwardly roll his eyes.

"What, do you wanna tie him up and then drag him around or something?"

"You....are an imbecile!"

It was too early in the morning for this. "Fuck you say about me?!"

Chihiro finally teared up and sobbed quietly, covering her eyes with her hands.

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked gently.

"I-I just don't feel very good....I-I keep thinking a-about what happened in the library the other day with Togami-san...how I was so afraid to protest back at h-him, and Oowada-kun had to come to my rescue..." She sniffled. "Saying Togami-san shouldn't pick on weak people..."

"Oh, so it's his fault," Aoi sighed.

Mondo gave her a dirty look. It was also too early in the morning for this. "My fault?! How is it my fault? I didn't mean nothin' by that when I said it. You're a chick, so it's only natural that you're weak! Chicks are just naturally weaker than men are!"

Chihiro tensed up at that comment and begun crying harder.

Shit, that's not what he wanted!

"H-Hey, don't cry!"

"You were yelling at her, it's no wonder she started crying more," Aoi scolded, crossing her arms at him.

"Fine, I promise I won't yell at ya anymore if that's what you want. I'm not good at handlin' stuff like this,"

"I don't believe that for a second,"

Mondo stared at her. Why was this such a big deal? A chick was crying; why did that matter? It wasn't as if he wanted Chihiro to cry and be upset, but he was certain he wasn't the real cause of it. Why couldn't one of the other girls deal with it?

He finally sighed. "I don't just promise to not yell, but I'll make it be a man's promise. That way, it can never be broken. It'll never be broken even in death," Mondo kept his voice level.

"H-Huh? A man's promise?" Chihiro peeked up at that, tears still freely falling from her eyes.

"Yeah. When I was a kid, that's what my older brother told me. That a true man never makes promises without seeing it through to the bitter end. I hold those words close to me, especially since...they're all I have left of him," Mondo hoped he hadn't winced at that. He hadn't made a 'man's promise' in ages, and thinking of his older brother was like ripping the bandage off a still-fresh wound. Hard.

"All you have left of him?" Hifumi asked.

"He's dead." Mondo silently pleaded they wouldn't ask him for details and pry them out of him, but judging by their reactions, they wished to just leave it at that as a sign of respect. "But let's not worry about that and dampen our mood further!" He forced out a laugh, grinning at Chihiro. "I meant what I said. A man's promise to never make you cry, never yell at you...I'll protect you. It's what I'm expected to do, after all!"

Chihiro gave him a small smile, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "T-Thank you, Oowada-kun...it means a lot to me," She sighed.

"Don't mention it,"

"B-But...I can't keep going on like this," She looked away. "I-I'm so weak and pathetic...I cry at everything and can't do anything f-for myself...I want to get stronger,"

"Well, there's no need to force it," Makoto said.

"N-No...I actually _want_ to get stronger. Maybe I could start working out,"

"If thee ever becomes serious in that goal, I would be more than happy to lend a hand," Sakura smiled, making Hifumi shriek.

"No way! You'll crush my darling Madame Fujisaki!" He cried. Aoi gave him a dirty look, while Chihiro giggled.

"Hey, you're smiling!" Yasuhiro pointed out.

"Y-Yeah...I'm starting to feel better," She confirmed.

Mondo smiled at Chihiro as well, getting a small breakfast.

For the past few days, his appetite had been almost non-existent, and though he'd never mention it or make any indication that something was wrong, he knew exactly what it was.

Everytime he closed his eyes, everytime he went to sleep, Leon's execution was all that played in his mind, the sounds, images, and smells as vivid and loud as they were that night.

He wasn't a squeamish person; one couldn't be in his world, where abuse and drugs and death ruled, and he prided himself on how strong and unfazed he had gotten over certain things. One of those things just happened to be death. Mondo himself had killed many times to keep the gang intact and he'd kill many more times as needed. He wasn't afraid of blood, whether it be a little or a lot. He didn't mind the blood.

What he _did_ mind was the brutality. The sheer brutalness of it. Even when Mondo killed he made it quick and painless by aiming for the back of the head; it was instant and the person wouldn't even realize what had happened. Leon was just pummeled to meat before their very eyes, and his screams still echoed in Mondo's ears.

Why did it bother him so much that it was Leon specifically?

"Shit," He suddenly groaned, finding his food unappetizing suddenly. He pushed it away.

"What's wrong?" Aoi asked, her earlier irritation at him seemingly forgotten.

"Speakin' of chicks...I still feel bad for that Enoshima girl," He lied. Technically not a lie; he was upset that her life was literally just wasted and killed just to make an example of. It wasn't on his mind though. "She was a good person, you know,"

"If it makes you feel better...you treated her like a gentleman. You put your jacket over her," Makoto said softly.

"A chick is still a chick, you know? You all were just gawkin' at her and she needed some respect," Mondo still recalled that night after the trial when he returned back to his room. His jacket had been freshly-washed and pressed, clean of any blood and even smelled like a nice but masculine detergent. Folded up neatly on his bed. He shivered at the sight and nearly threw it away until he thought better of it. It was his only tie left to the gang; it would be a huge disrespect to toss it.

Still, where did it come from? Who cleaned it? Was it that Mastermind, playing them? It had to be, if it was one of the girls in his class, she'd admit to it because girls liked receiving credit for stuff they did.

"I-If I died, would you cover my body too?" Chihiro asked suddenly. "I want to be wrapped up in a burial shroud, played off to something like Ave Maria,"

"My, you think about death quite often," Celestia tittered.

"Yeah, I would. I'll protect you down to my last dyin' breath, I meant that," Mondo nodded slowly. This chick's religious talk went over his head at the best of times. He put a hand on her head, making her stiffen slightly.

"And _you_ sound quite postively morbid!" Celestia gasped. "I am sure what happened before was just a minor fluke. The rest of us have managed to adapt. Therefore, we will have nothing else to worry about. None of us will succumb to such cheap desires,"

"Hey, our friends and family being in danger are not cheap desires!" Yasuhiro yelled at her, making her giggle.

"But are they not? Families hold you back and friends never understand you. You would be far better off cutting both out from your life," She left after that, leaving a morbid tone behind.

"She must be so lonely..." Aoi commented.

"I-I can't imagine someone like that...w-who says they're happier without friends," Chihiro looked ready to cry again. "W-What kind of a life is that? Like Togami-san and Fukawa-san. We just w-want to be their friends,"

Mondo sighed. "I don't think everyone here has the same thoughts as you do on that subject, chick," He tried to hold her hand, but she turned dangerously pale and shrunk away.

Chihiro was the sort of person who cared about others just as much as she cared about herself, if not more. That must've been why those hazel eyes of hers looked so sad; that's what Junko said the night they received their motive. Her eyes looked like the sun behind grey, rain-filled clouds.

He genuinely felt bad he made her cry earlier, and felt bad in general that some members of the class seemed to enjoy giving her a hard time just because she was the smallest and weakest of them all.

He wished he was better at understanding people sometimes. He wished he was better at saying what he meant and not just resorting to shouting all of the time. His house was normally extremely loud and one had to shout in order to be heard over others and the action just stuck. But for once, he found himself wishing he could stop if it meant Chihiro would stop being so nervous around him.

Yes, that wasn't the first time Chihiro had acted nervous and shy around him. She often blushed and stared at his muscles, flinching when he spoke loudly to her.

Wait, did Chihiro have a crush on him?!

Shit.

=

Everyone had dispersed after breakfast as usual, leaving Mondo alone to go do his own thing. He remembered how glad he had been when they learned the changing rooms on the second-floor had exercise equipment; it had been a week and he was in desperate need of training to keep his strength up by that point. It was really the only interesting thing up there in his eyes. Empty classrooms that served them no purpose, a library, Mondo had never been much for reading anyway, same with swimming. But weight-lifting? That he could get behind.

For the past few days Mondo had been spending his free-time doing nothing but exercising, and he had the changing room to himself for the most part. He was glad for that. He had nothing against the other guys, but he had a feeling they might ask him to try and rep them, and he wasn't really in the mood for that. Most of them seemed uninterested in the equipment anyway, which was good for him.

Mondo changed into a white tank and black sweats, heading right in and beginning his set. He thought of Byakuya belittling Chihiro into crying. He thought of the brutality of Leon's exeuction and the waste of Junko's life. He thought of Leon admitting to raping Sayaka proudly after he was found guilty. He thought of his brother.

The angerier he got, the more raw power he had to properly work out with. That's how the world worked, that's what everyone knew. Everytime you felt something, you punched it out. You didn't cry or shy away, you confronted problems head-on by yelling and fighting until the problem went away. Everything up to that point had been solved for him that way.

 _Except for-_

He slammed his fist hard into the punching bag, hearing the chain rattle loudly against the ceiling and nearly break.

"Shit!" He shouted, giving the punching bag a large kick while he was at it.

Punch it all away, punch it all away, punch it all away. That's what a true man did. The only emotions they were ever supposed to feel was anger and domination and true power.

Mondo worked out for a better part of the day, expecting someone else to come in at some point, such as Kiyotaka. He was the only other guy who seemed interested in the equipment, but he didn't come in. Just as well, as Mondo needed the silence and was glad to have it.

After several hours, Mondo sighed and breathed heavily, worked-up from all the punching and kicking and lifting he did that day. It was a good work-out, and at that point, he couldn't even remember what he was pissed-off at anyway.

Assuming it was close to around eight or nine, Mondo knew he had to start heading back to the dorms before nighttime. There wasn't a clock around that he could see, so he just had to use guesswork. He showered briefly and changed back into his regular clothes, not wanting to seep sweat into his sheets as he slept. After how intensly he worked out, he supposed he didn't need to worry about falling asleep.

He found his thoughts turning to Chihiro once again as he walked. Damn Byakuya for yelling at her so harshly she froze up and cried. Who did he think he was, getting off on bullying those weaker than him? People like that made him sick. Daiya always told him that despite everything, one should never treat a woman badly. They had seen enough of what their father's abuse towards their mother had done to know they didn't want their future wives to end up that way.

Besides, it didn't matter if she was weak or not. She was a girl, and it was their job to be protected and gentle, and it was the man's job to protect them and take care of them and keep them safe. Their mother was very much like that; a soft housewife who liked cooking and collecting cosmetics. If Chihiro needed a man like that in her life, Mondo would happily provide. In a way, she was almost like the little sister he never had.

She was also different from the other girls, whom Mondo grew nervous around and often yelled at, scaring them off. Other girls also disliked hearing about manly things and just wanted to talk about TV shows or fashion and got upset when you didn't respect that. Chihiro, though, Chihiro never cared about how her hair looked or what shoes matched her necklace. Mondo could talk to her for hours on end about 'guy shit' like working-out or his hog and she would listen intently with stars in her eyes. And best of all, she would engage in the conversation, asking him questions and knowing more about the subject than he had expected.

Maybe she _did_ have a crush on him.

Shit, he hoped not.

In a normal circumstance, he'd allow it, but in a tense siutation like this, Mondo figured it was probably better for the both of them if she didn't. A close relationship like that wouldn't fare well.

Mondo continued walking, passing the two restrooms before he paused, thinking to himself. It was almost nighttime, which meant the water to their dorms would be shut off soon. Best to take a leak now and not have to worry about that sort of thing later, right? The water was still clearly working because he had a shower, so....best to just take care of that then he'd be on his way.

He probably should've used the bathroom in the locker room, but he had a lot on his mind and didn't really have to go anyway. Why waste his time?

He pushed open the door and walked inside, noting he felt someone else's presence inside as he headed for the urinals. He intially paid it no mind, assuming it was just Makoto or Kiyotaka with the same idea as him. He didn't have to actually talk to them if so. Still, the atmosphere felt strangely awkward and quiet-

He glanced up when he reached the row of urinals and stopped completely in his tracks.

Standing there at the last urinal, completely frozen in shock herself, was Chihiro. With her clothes undone. Taking a leak in the urinal. With a-

"What the fuck?!" The words were out of Mondo's mouth before he could fully stop them or even realize he had spoken, loudly bouncing off the empty walls. Chihiro stiffened and teared-up, but otherwise didn't move a muscle as she- _he-_ finished pissing. It was the only sound in the bathroom, that soft tingling on the porcelain. Mondo didn't know where to look or what to do, and the sound was amplified by the empty walls. It went on for what seemed like ages and he could only imagine what thoughts were going through Chihiro's mind at the time.

Eventually, Chihiro shook himself off and redressed himself, fluffing his skirt out and snapping his suspenders back into place to make himself look presentable, much like a girl would do in the mirror. He then tried to run off, bumping right into Mondo because he was still standing in front of the door.

"P-Please move...please...get out of my way..." Chihiro trembled, his voice barely above a whisper. His fists dug into the sides of his skirt and he looked exhausted and humiliated. He refused to look Mondo in the face.

"Not until you tell me what the hell I just saw!" Mondo yelled, wincing afterwards. He hadn't meant to start yelling again, not even at this, but he just couldn't help it. His emotions always manifested as angered yelling. "Well? I'm waiting!"

Chihiro's whole body shook as he started to cry. "I-I..I-I'm so s-sorry...I'm so sorry...I tried t-to head back to my dorm but I just c-couldn't hold it a-anymore, and n-nobody else was around to s-see....s-so I thought.." He cried harder. "Y-You must hate me....I-I can never show my face around anyone ever again...least of all you...!"

"You're not a chick, are you?" He asked, sighing when Chihiro shook his head. He looked positively pitiful. "Look, it's way too late for this kinda shit. Just go to bed. I gotta go to bed too. Tomorrow, I'll have a better response,"

He looked up at Mondo then, mute terror in his eyes. "Y-You're not going t-to tell anyone else, right? P-Please, don't tell anyone else...I-I'll do whatever you want, just d-don't tell!" He suddenly pleaded, nearly on his knees.

Damn, he must've had some kind of major issue about it. "Why the hell would I tell anyone else? Just go," He stepped away from the door and Chihiro raced off as fast as the wind, his footsteps loudly echoing down the hall for several minutes. Mondo sighed again, his mind too far too numb and tired to think over the possible repercussions of this.

He managed to take his own leak and headed back to his dorm, indeed hoping he had a better response to everything in the morning. Tomorrow, he'd have a better response. Maybe he'd just start by asking a bunch of questions. Right? That was the right way to start it, right? Or, wait, maybe he should just act like nothing ever happened between them and he kept treating Chihiro like he always had. Was _that_ the right way?

Mondo groaned loudly and threw a pillow at the window hard.

Shit, how were you supposed to respond properly upon learning one of your friends was the wrong gender?!


	12. Chapter 2: A Boys' Life is Like a Jungle; Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro decides he can't hide his gender anymore and starts dressing and acting just like Mondo, idolizing him. However, his decision doesn't go over well with the remainder of the class, who have a hard time adjusting to it. Celestia, on the other hand, sees an opportunity to gain information on a possible way of escaping...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter today but this chapter is long enough already and we need to move onto the murder/trial of this chapter 
> 
> Much like part 2 of We Just Want to Survive, this chapter contains a scene of moderate dubious-consent and extreme emotional manipulation. If that genuinely makes you feel uncomfortable, then skip it. It starts at the line 'Celes-san?' and ends at the line 'Celestia quickly pulled herself off and gave him a sweet smile again..' However much like before, I still recommend at least skimming because horror stories are meant to be uncomfortable and disturbing and explicit 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

Makoto shook his head as he left the bathhouse, slipping his hands into his pockets as he looked back.

"I really hope they're going to be alright..." He sighed and started walking again, stopping when he felt his foot tread on something. "Huh?"

He picked it up and found it was a picture of a regular-looking classroom with a sunny blue sky visible in the windows. He frowned at the picture. The classroom looked a bit like one of the ones there...he focused on the people in the picture and felt his blood run cold.

The picture featured Sayaka sitting on a desk, her lunch spread out neatly in her lap. She wore a brown blazer over a knee-long pleated blue skirt and white sweater. She had her nails painted blue. She was giggling in the picture, genuinely seeming happy. Beside her was Leon, wearing a white jersey and matching pants, looking the same as ever. He also had a lunch spread out in his lap, nuzzling close to Sayaka and making it look like he was trying to nibble on her ear. He was smiling too and laughing.

"H-How...? They were never this close..." Makoto tried to think back to Sayaka and Leon and how they interacted the previous week. Leon was always trying to hook up with her, and Sayaka seemed more annoyed by it. But maybe it was always surface-level?

But more importantly, a picture like that meant...they were alive somewhere! Right? Sayaka was still alive and well, being happy, and so was Leon...

"I forgot about that," Monokuma said randomly, appearing. Makoto jumped. "When I was doing my weekly clean of this place, I had a feeling I forgot something, and I guess it was that,"

"Is this really...of Kuwata-kun and Maizono-san?" Makoto asked slowly, showing it off. "At school...?"

"I think I'll just take that," Monokuma swiped it away. "It's basically just junk at this point,"

"But....the windows! The sky! The uniforms!"

Monokuma simply vanished after that, making Makoto pout.

"What's going on here...? What was that a picture of...?"

^*^

Chihiro slammed the door to his dorm as loudly and as hard as he could possibly muster; resulting in a loud slam but still not as loud as he would've preferred. He stood there and trembled slowly with his breathing becoming more shallow. Once he was positive nobody else would come after him, he sunk down to the floor on his knees and cried as if his heart had been broken. He cried and cried and cried, making his nose feel watery and melted and his head throb and pound badly. He ran out of tears and was made to hiccup and gasp, trembling.

He had been _so_ good, _so_ careful to keep his secret here around his classmates. He holed himself up in his room and ignored the girls' confused requests to swim or change or shower with them. He simply ran away from any guys who dared to show him some kind of flirtatious affection, such as Leon and Hifumi. He only changed in his room, showered and used the toilet in there; upset he wasn't allowed to have a lock. He made sure his skirt was frilly and layered-enough to hide any possible 'issues' he got randomly. The point being, he did _everything_ he could in his power, literally everything, to prevent them from ever finding out and mocking him.

And the one person he didn't want to learn his secret had, all because of his weak, stupid bladder. Figured even that part of him was weak, every other inch of him was so why would that be an exception? He was weak and pathetic and useless. Even someone like Makoto would be able to hold it and go in his dorm, but Chihiro couldn't. He really did think hard about it; he spent the day reading in the library and had gotten so absorbed in what he was doing the need had hit him like a train. He stood in front of the door for what seemed like hours, squirming and crossing his legs together before he dashed inside, thinking nobody was even on that floor anyway. Nobody had come into the library.

_Weak...useless...pathetic..._

Chihiro blew his nose and slowly stood up on wobbly knees, looking at the camera in his room. Was the Mastermind enjoying their torment? Was the Mastermind enjoying his suffering and tears specifically?

He climbed onto his bed and made a bunch of the stuffed animals he managed to collect their time there fall over. He picked up the giraffe and stared at it, sniffling. It stared back silently with big cute eyes.

Only girls liked cute things. Only girls liked sweets. Only girls liked to bake desserts for the church potlucks and spend rainy afternoons reading in a windowsill and disliked horror movies because they'd scream at everything. Girls didn't like basketball or football or martial arts; they liked tennis and swimming and softball. Girls hated gym, especially weightlifting. Girls weren't good at computers or science or math; those who were found it boring and hated it. Girls who worked on computers wore white gloves to keep their hands nice and clean. Girls didn't let boys look up their skirts and shaved their legs and applied a small bit of lipgloss and foundation every single morning before school. Girls played the piano during worship sessions and helped out with crafts during Sunday School. Girls wore big bows in their hair.

Girls were weak.

Just like him.

Chihiro despised his current attire; he only wore it because it's what girls did. He hated the big bow in his hair that fell out sometimes because his hair was too short for it anyway. He hated the itchy white tights that hung too lowly on his waist. He hated his frilly skirt and how he had to cross his legs when he sat down so it wouldn't ride up. He hated his white gloves that were once pristine and spotless when he bought them, now stained badly with grease and food. He hated his girly braces; not the braces themselves but the pastel colours of them.

He gripped the giraffe tightly in his hands and hurled it hard against the wall, hearing it hit loudly. He pulled on his hair and bit his fist.

"I hate this! I hate it all!" He cried, feeling pent-up emotionally.

He was such a fool. Did he really expect his secret to be kept for a long time in a situation like this? In such close quarters, it was only a matter of time before he did something to inadvertently expose himself, and then they'd likely all hate him. He was already extremely thankful that Mondo seemed to shocked to question him that night, but what of tomorrow? The day after that? Every other day after that? Could they really go back to the relationship they had before where Mondo played the protective older brother, except it'd be for a boy and not a girl like he had thought? Like he had assumed? Like he had _hoped?_

"I can't do this anymore...." Chihiro sighed and fell back into his bed, hitting his head on the pillows. He found a nearby stuffed rabbit and pressed it close to him, burying his face in the soft cottony fluff.

What could he do? He glanced down at the Rosary around his neck and sat up slowly, clutching that instead. He then clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

"I do not want to be a liar anymore. It's given me nothing but trouble...maybe that's why we're told it's a sin to do so. If I truly want to be a good person, I need to turn over a new leaf. I hope I have your guidance even now in this situation..." He paused, thinking of how he prayed after Leon, Sayaka, and Junko all died. He really hoped God would let them have eternal life even despite everything. "If I die here, I will likely not be given a proper burial. But please don't hold that against me! I'm doing the best that I can. Amen,"

Afterwards, he fell back down in bed and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, he'd turn over a new leaf. He'd start dressing like a boy...he didn't _want_ to, he didn't feel _ready_ to, but he had no choice. He was a man, and it was time to start acting like it. He shoved his hand down the front of his skirt and trembled slightly as it closed around his manhood.

He called it that because it was the only literal proof that he was who he said he was. Despite that, he didn't feel very proud of it on days like these. Even despite _that,_ on other days, he still enjoyed giving himself pleasure with it, reading gossip and fashion magazines. At least even a girl could admit to liking big breasts without it being seen as strange.

Chihiro bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut tighter as he touched himself some more, running his finger on his slit and slowly pumping his hand up and down along his average length. He thought of Sayaka's large breasts and bending over the breakfast table. He thought of Junko's tanned muscles. He thought of Aoi's magenta shorts and Celestia's overall aesthetic. He thought of it all, strangling a small moan that started to form in his throat. Finally, he cummed, tears forming in his eyes. Chihiro took his hand out and threw the dirty skirt and tights on the floor, curling up in bed. He didn't want to cry again, not having enough energy, but the tears came anyway and he found himself crying himself to sleep.

Tomorrow would be a new chapter in his life.

=

Chihiro woke up after the morning announcement, rubbing his eyes and pouting. He had hoped he would wake up earlier so nobody would see him shuffling around the halls...nothing for it then.

He slipped the tights and skirt back on and snuck out of his room, slowly tiptoeing down the hall and making a beeline for the warehouse. He stuck to the shadowy corners until he found a rack full of different mens' clothing. Trembling and nervous, he pulled some random pieces off and redressed himself, throwing his old uniform off. He found some scissors and cut the uniform into small pieces, shredding them up the best he could and throwing them away. He then spat on the pieces, bunching his hands into fists.

"Never again..."

The new clothes featured heavy black boots tucked into distressed jeans, a white tank, a black leather jacket, black fingerless leather gloves, a studded belt with chains hanging off it, his Rosary, and a sickness mask pulled around his mouth. He had changed into a white pair of boxers as well, disregarding his normal bloomers.

He flinched as he looked in the mirror, trembling and looking away. He then nervously headed to breakfast, trying to keep his balance in the tall heavy boots. The loud stomping of the heel made him wince even though he wasn't even trying to make noise.

"F-Fujisaki-chan? Is that you?" Aoi asked in disbelief, looking him over. Chihiro flinched again.

"Yo, cool new digs!" Yasuhiro grinned.

"M-My precious Madame Fujisaki! You've gone from girl-next-door to tough biker chick!" Hifumi gasped.

"What happened to you?" Makoto asked, looking him over more.

"Uh....huh....d-don't ask me stupid q-questions like that!" Chihiro showed off his fist, swallowing. "O-Otherwise, I'll beat ya!"

"Good morning, everyone!" Kiyotaka announced suddenly, making Chihiro yelp and take his seat at the table, blushing madly.

"What happened to you two? What about your rivalry?" Makoto asked in surprise, finding Kiyotaka and Mondo walking into the cafeteria with their arms draped around their shoulders. Chihiro looked up in surprise.

"Rivalry? We wouldn't dream of have such a thing with each other!"

"Yeah! We're both bros for life, you know?! This is what true friendship between real men looks like!" Mondo and Kiyotaka both laughed at that, while Chihiro's eyes brightened.

True friendship between men....

"I want that too! I see!" He jumped up. "Oowada-kun! Teach me everything you know about being a man!"

That seemed to take Mondo out of it and he stared at Chihiro in slight confusion. "What are you on about, chick?"

"N-No...don't even try to pretend a-around the others. You saw me l-last night..." He trembled at the memory. "T-That's why...I changed. I can't dress like that anymore in a place like this..."

"Wait, so you're actually...a boy?" Aoi blinked. "Is that what you're saying?"

He nodded slowly.

"My, things just became a tad more interesting," Celestia giggled.

"I cannot believe this! Madame Fujisaki, I'm proud of you. You're coming forward to truly be your true self...a reverse trap! The rarest of all the traps!" Hifumi praised Chihiro, making him start to tear up. No, he couldn't start crying again at the drop of a hat. Mondo never cried. He bit his lip and stood up straight, trying to stare Hifumi down.

"P-Please...just refer to me as a boy. And treat me like one...I'm sorry that I lied to you all...b-but we can still be friends, right?" He tried to smile hopefully.

Several members of the class managed to nod, but the rest just stared at Chihiro in confusion. He bit his lip to prevent more tears from falling down and just took his seat.

He spent the rest of breakfast listening to Mondo and Kiyotaka exchange pleasant but heated exchanges with each other, finding himself smiling at it despite how annoying it got after a while. He got a plate of eggs and sausage and ate it all in just several bites, getting grease on his mouth and burping loudly. The girls stared at him in disgust, making him shrink back into his seat.

Isn't this what he wanted? To be treated as a guy?

After breakfast, Kiyotaka left to go help Celestia in the library and Mondo was by himself, and Chihiro started to follow him around.

"Huh? What do you want, chi-kid?" He corrected himself quickly. "Sorry, I'm still not used to...ya know,"

"C-Can I...follow you around all day today? I just...I want to learn how to be more manly!" He exclaimed. "Please! If there's anyone in this school who knows about stuff like that, it'd be you!"

Mondo stared into Chihiro's eyes, making him stand up straighter. He sighed.

"I'm not sure I'd be a good teacher, but...I guess ya can hang around me today. I was thinking of working-out," He rubbed the back of his head.

Chihiro perked up happily, gasping. "I'd love to watch you work-out! You can show me the best exercises to do to bulk up! I want to gain more muscle," He flexed his arm.

Mondo stared at him for a bit longer before leaving, and Chihiro followed closely behind, shoving his hands into his pockets and mimicking Mondo's walk.

He paused at the changing room door, almost glancing around before he remembered he looked like a boy. Sighing, he took out his E-Handbook and scanned it, walking inside when the reader beeped.

"You aren't going to change?" Mondo asked in surprise, having already changed into a black tracksuit. Chihiro shook his head.

"I just want to watch you for today!"

"If you say so, kid,"

Mondo worked out for the better part of the day, Chihiro watching with a fascinated look on his face. He made note of everything Mondo did and said, trying to mimic and perfect his own mannerisms to match.

Once it was late afternoon, Mondo started to put the equipment away. "Gotta take a shower,"

Chihiro nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets again. "Y-Yeah...uh, I gotta head back to my room too. Get some...work done. Maybe read. Uh, I mean...umm.." He yanked on his hair. Oh no! Mondo didn't really read as a pastime. "Er....uh..." He felt tears come to his eyes; the realization of which just made even more come. No, no, no! He couldn't start crying and acting like a wimp again!

"You okay?" Mondo gave him a look of genuine concern, which made more hot tears stream down Chihiro's face. He was pathetic, still needing to be cared for.

"I-I'm fine....I'm sorry I had to trouble you like that...!" He gasped. "Someone as strong as you shouldn't be concerned over my needs, right? You have your own to worry about!"

"Yeah, but....my promise still stands, you know. You may be a dude, but that don't mean nothin'. I'll still protect you if you need it,"

"Because that is the kind of amazing person you are! You never go back on your word!" Chihiro beamed, clasping his hands together. "That's why I admire you!"

Mondo seemed to flinch at that statement, but Chihiro paid him no mind. He just waved happily and headed back to his room, locking the door and nervously glancing up at the camera inside.

He pulled open one of the drawers in the desk, rummaging around and making it seem as though he was looking for a notebook. At the very bottom of the drawer was a false bottom he had managed to install with his toolkit. It was fairly shoddy, but it was his first time and he was secretly proud of it even if it was a tad too big for the drawer. He recalled first finding that toolkit and instantly trying to use it, installing a false bottom to hide the laptop. He mainly used a screwdriver and the hammer and was extremely proud of what he had done, gripping the tools in his hand and working the way a man was supposed to.

Chihiro reached inside the bottom and felt around, smiling when his hands closed around the laptop and he pulled it out and opened it up. After it booted up, he went right back to work on it, soon falling into his zone where he disregarded everything that wasn’t his computer. He flinched a bit at how awkward it was to type with the gloves on; he couldn’t feel the keys as easily. He bit his lip and forced that thought down. He was a man now, and a man didn’t concern himself over such petty nonsense.

When he first received the laptop, he managed to make it turn on after an hour, finding locked files he couldn’t access despite his best hacking attempts. Before giving up, Chihiro thought that just because he couldn’t access them didn’t mean they were forever lost. He could program an A.I. helper that could secretly move around and decode the files itself. He didn’t know how much time he’d have to work on it, so he worked fast and secretly, knowing whatever he made would be fairly primitive in comparison to what he could normally do.

But all that mattered was if it could do its job properly.

And he knew it would be able to do that.

^*^

”I assumed someone like you might make a fine butler one day. You are firm but strict and always make sure everyone is doing what is expected of them,” Celestia smiled sweetly, gently setting her cup down. “However, I see that I was incorrect in that regard. You did not listen to my instructions,”

”Would you like me to remake it? I can!” Kiyotaka started to ask, but Celestia dropped her cup on the floor.

“Leave my sight at once! You are not fit for any position I offer!” She snapped, making him startle and race away with a soft ‘yes ma’am’ on his lips. She sunk back in her seat and buried her head in her arms, feeling her child eagerly kick inside of her. “I’m trying, I am genuinely trying to give you the best nutrition. Sadly, I seem to be surrounded by imbeciles,” She wanted to cry.

Her child...how much longer could she feasibly even have it inside of her? She had a strong aching to find the father and see her child once it was born.

She had never felt so miserable.

^*^

Kyoko glanced around as she put some books away in the library, feeling someone eyeing her. She stood up straight and continued her work, subtly glancing behind her.

Nobody was there.

She frowned. She could definitely feel someone's eyes on her. She put the remainder of the books away and stuck to the shadows, peeking out from behind a bookshelf.

Just Byakuya reading at the table like usual. She silently stepped past and wandered into the hallway, making sure she bumped into Touko who was going the opposite direction.

“W-What’s your problem?!” She huffed.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Kyoko said.

“Y-Yeah right...you probably planned to run into me on purpose...s-so you can knock me to the ground and laugh at me when I can’t get back up because I’m not a s-skinny little waif!”

”Do you want me to laugh at you?”

”J-Just leave me alone. I-I don’t know why you’re trying to be s-so talkative all of a sudden,” Touko hurried off at that, leaving Kyoko to watch her receding form. She got a thoughtful look on her features.

^*^

Chihiro was genuinely trying to be manly and not cry at the drop of a hat. Speak more assertively and direct, always slip your hands into your pockets, don’t ever worry about the little things, always protect the girls, and most of all, don’t ever show anything that could be taken as a sign of weakness. He had learned all of this from watching Mondo and mimicking whatever he did. Mondo seemed uncomfortable by the idolization though, which worried Chihiro. Why wasn’t he flattered? Didn’t he always want a little brother to worship him and sing his praises and do everything he said?

Still, things were awful. Chihiro thought coming clean about his secret would close the gap between him and his classmates and make things less awkward instead of going the other way like it did. They still called him ‘Fujisaki-chan’ before quickly averting their eyes and apologizing. They still scolded when he didn’t soften his voice and spoke to him gently before trying to explain it had nothing to do with ‘that’. Hifumi still saw him as a reverse-trap instead of a real boy, whatever that was supposed to mean. Every time he ran to Mondo for comfort and Mondo just winced and suggested he punch it out.

Punching could only really work if you had raw strength and energy to begin with. That’s why Chihiro always tended to cry it out. But he couldn’t do that anymore because that’s not what men did.

So when Aoi bumped into him in the cafeteria that morning, calling him ‘pretty’, he immediately felt something inside of him break apart.

“I-I actually meant you look ‘clean’, you know? Nice and clean-shaven,” She tried to explain, genuinely looking sorry.

How would she be able to tell if he even was with his mask covering half of his face? He felt that liquidy bubble feeling boil up in his chest and he bit his lip desperately, not wanting this to be the thing he cried over. He bit his lip, pinched his arm, dug his nails into his palm, silently willed himself to not cry, because a true man never cries especially over something so petty. He was supposed to just laugh it off and accept her apology and move along. Because it was just an honest mistake.

Everything in the room suddenly turned bright and foggy and a loud sob burst from his chest and that’s when Chihiro knew he could never be a true man.

“I-Is that all I am to y-y-you?!” He asked while trembling, pointing to the table. “A joke? Something to mock? S-Something to drool after...?” The tears streamed down his cheeks hotly and he started crying hard. “I-I thought you all were my friends...t-that...you’d be understanding of me and respect me....but all you’ve done is treat me l-like this is some kind of phase!”

“W-We didn’t mean any harm from it!” Aoi gasped.

“Yeah, dude, we’re really trying. This is just a lot to take in. We thought you were one gender for our whole time here, and now we’re supposed to shove that aside?” Yasuhiro sighed. “Nobody’s trying to disrespect you or anything,”

”Perhaps life truly would have been kinder to you if you _were_ a girl, whether physically or mentally,” Celestia boredly played with her hair. “There would be no awkwardness about it,”

Chihiro tightly clenched his fists and glanced down at the ground, sobbing even harder. His head pounded and his nose ran.

“Come on, that’s going too far,” Mondo scolded her. “Nobody cares what gender he is,”

”Oh? You are not innocent either. You keep having slips of your tongue around him too, and keep making excuses to not change or shower around him,” Celestia smiled. “Almost as if _you_ wish he were a girl too,”

Chihiro didn’t hear the rest of that conversation, as he simply ran from the cafeteria and down the hall, crying. He pushed open the bathroom door and locked himself in a stall, crying his heart out. It only later occurred to him that it was really girly to cry in a bathroom stall, but at that moment, Chihiro found he didn’t care.

“Fujisaki-kun?” Makoto’s voice reached him. Chihiro curled up on the toilet more, shielding his legs and feet from view.

“Kid, are you okay?” Mondo’s voice.

Chihiro tried his hardest to remain silent, his lip quivering, but soon a sob broke through and he collapsed into a pile of sobs again.

“Fujisaki-kun!” Makoto softly knocked on the bathroom stall. “Are you alright?”

No. Everyone saw him as some kind of a joke and he just squandered his own chances of ever getting taken seriously as a man by crying. Mondo would never ever cry at anything. He must’ve seen him as a massive disappointment. He couldn’t admit any of that though, he was supposed to be strong. Men always hid their true feelings away.

“Y-Yeah! I’m feeling great! Never better! I feel like I could run ten laps or somethin!” He heard his voice crack and he buried his face in his knees.

It was silent in the bathroom, and even though Chihiro knew they were both still there, he still continued to cry until he was fully out of tears, hiccuping and gasping afterwards.

“Feel better now?” Mondo asked.

_No. I feel worse. I’m such a pathetic weakling, how could you ever stand to be around me?_

“Yeah....”

“Are you upset over what Asahina-san said at breakfast? Or is it something else?” Makoto asked through the stall door.

“It’s something else. It’s...e-everything. I-I meant what I said when I yelled. E-Everyone still calls me a girl and treats me like one...t-they try to quickly correct themselves but I can see it in their eyes. T-They want me to be a-a girl..” He buried his face in his knees. “I-I hate how they’re walking on eggshells around me. I just want to be treated as I am...I hate being misgendered like this,”

”It’s a...difficult transition. Nobody wants you to be a girl, Fujisaki-kun. We’ve had to refer to you as one way and now have to get used to a new way...it’ll just take some time,” Makoto explained. “It’s not easy for anyone,”

Chihiro reached out and finally unlocked the stall door, revealing the two standing there.

“You have us,”

“Yeah, and if anyone tries to call you a chick again, kid, just tell me. I’ll beat ‘em up for you!” Mondo pressed his fists together, making Chihiro blush. He mimicked the action and instantly winced from the pain.

“Ouch..” Chihiro sighed.

“Even if it takes us time to adjust, know that we don’t hate you. You’re still our friend,” Makoto smiled, and Chihiro gave him a warm smile back.

“T-Thank you..hearing you two say that means so much...” He gave Mondo a big hug, burying his face in his chest. “Especially coming from you...Big Brother...”

^*^

Thirteen days. They had been trapped in that God-forsaken place for thirteen days, and worst of all, everyone seemed to be getting comfortable and cozy once again. They didn’t have any desire to get out.

Pathetic.

She was almost afraid to spend time with anyone at that point for fear of her mask cracking and finally showing everyone her desperation and anxiety and sadness. She needed to get out, she wanted to raise her child free from prying eyes, and she wished to return to the underground gambling scene.

Every day that passed, she grew more and more anxious due to the baby growing inside of her, freeloading off of her. She couldn’t give birth in a place like this. And what if the child was ‘wrong’ due to the immense stress and tension she felt often? What if she delivered a stillborn? Not even a queen would deliver a stillborn, they often had babies who died within hours of birth, but never a stillbirth. What if she gave birth but there was blood everywhere-

She paused in her thoughts when she heard someone wander into the library; heavy boots announcing their presence. Curious, she moved into the shadows and watched as Chihiro walked in, carrying a large stack of books in her-ah, non, _his_ -arms.

What was he working on with that computer that he insisted he kept secret? A way out?

She had ways of making him talk.

Celestia straightened herself out and stepped out of the shadows, her heels clacking loudly on the floor and echoing. Chihiro jumped and looked up in fright, relaxing slightly.

“Celes-san! You startled me,” He sighed in relief.

“What are you doing in here? Returning some books?” Celestia took one off the pile and eyed it curiously. “Oh, this is all about programming,”

”Y-Yeah...er...I find it quite fascinating to read at times. Read about, I meant. Looking at binary code relaxes me,”

”Oh?” Celestia stepped closer once he finished putting all of the books away, noticing some others were about sports and weightlifting and how to become manlier. She smiled sweetly.

Jackpot.

“I feel terrible over how I have been treating you recently. You are right, we are all treating it like some sort of phase and that is not fair,” She begun, sighing. “Allow me to formally apologize to you,”

”O-Oh! Well, um...you’ve been one of the nicer ones about it, believe it or not. You haven’t misgendered me,” Chihiro smiled awkwardly, searching through the bookshelf. “You seem like a genuinely nice person,”

Celestia stared at him. “I like to keep to myself, silently wandering the halls. As you could quite likely imagine, I come across a lot on my walks. I heard you managed to acquire the old laptop in here from Kirigiri-san...why? What are you doing on it?” She stepped closer and tittered.

“It’s a-a secret...I-I can’t tell you or anyone...!” He started to stammer a bit, backing up.

Celestia grabbed his chin and gazed into his eyes, finding mainly confusion reflected in them. She slowly ran her hand down his cheek.

“You do not even want to tell a friend? You break my heart,”

And then she planted a kiss right on his lips.

”Mmmpfh?!” Chihiro cried out in shock, blinking. Celestia pulled him close and put her hand on the swell of his back, kissing-tongue with him. She smirked as she caught sight of his blush and eyes with a hint of lust.

“N-No...!” He suddenly shouted, managing to push her away. “I’m sorry, but...I can’t. We can’t...it would b-be wrong, right? We’re not married...”

“Is that the only problem?” She gently took his hands and ran her fingers along his palms, making him shiver. “Then let us find a licensed Minister here to wed us, or even better yet, elope. Does that not sound romantic?”

“I-I still don’t know...I also don’t want to tell you anything about my....computer,”

She dug her nails in harshly, making him wince in pain.

“Actually, you are right,” A new idea was beginning to form in her head and she took her hands away, holding her stomach and smiling sweetly instead. “It is none of my business what you are doing on that little laptop of yours. Forgive me for trying to pry,”

Chihiro shook his head. “I’m not upset! You didn’t know I’d be so defensive over it,”

Celestia felt her smile grow wider as she gently ran her hand along Chihiro’s lips, making him shiver. “However, I thought you at least would know...you never turn down an offer to have intercourse with a woman,”

”H-Huh?”

She moved in closer, nibbling on his ear and making him bite his lip. “A _real_ man would take advantage of such an opportunity. He would want to lay claim to what is rightfully his, and no man understands that message more than one who has had intercourse with his woman,” Celestia whispered, slowly trailing her hands down his body. She could feel him tense up.

“N-No...I don’t really w-want to...” He still shook his head.

”Then you are not a true man then. A true man would take this opportunity. Remember how Kuwata-san proudly boasted he slept with Maizono-san? Do you not want that to be you?” She leaned in more. “You can either follow me up to my room, or I return alone and you return to wearing dresses tomorrow, as a fearful little girl would do,”

Chihiro closed his eyes and trembled, looking miserable. Celestia waited. He finally bit his lip and slowly took her hand, making her smile sweetly. She closed hers around his.

“You made the right choice,” She turned to leave. “I will expect you there in five minutes,” She left him there in the library, alone, looking ready to cry.

=

“C-Celes-san...?” Celestia heard his voice call out in the darkness, and she slowly appeared from the shadows, smiling sweetly still.

“Chihiro-kun! I am very pleased you decided to do this with me,” She saw him flinch at the overly-familiar addressing in her tone. She stepped into the light more, wearing a heavy white nightgown covered with buttons. It covered every inch of skin.

“I...I still don’t want to, but...I can’t go back being weak like that. If this’ll truly help make me a man...I’ll do it,” He smiled nervously.

Celestia wasted no time and pulled him close to her, pressing him up against her body and kissing-tongue with him. She had more experience than him so she led; gasping every time she heard him try to suppress a moan.

“Mmmm...”

She pulled away and saw a long line of spit was attached to their mouths, making her giggle. She started to kiss him again, moaning and running her hands gently down his body. She could feel him both start to loosen up his limbs as well as harden and gently massaged his manhood through his pants, making him moan loudly in surprise.

"Celes-san..." He moaned out as they pulled away again and she gently pushed him onto her bed, straddling him. He looked up in confusion. "I-I thought...aren't girls always on the bottom?"

She shook her head and ran her finger along his lips, making him silence. She then took a step back and started to unbutton her nightgown, letting it fall to the floor and revealing her black-and-red lingerie. She slowly ran her hands down her body, soaking up his attention. He was blushing heavily and nearly leaning forward, staring at her chest especially.

"Do you like it?" She tittered. She wore a red corset embroidered with black roses and matching stays and lace, red lacy panties, black lacy thigh-highs attached to garters, and a red jeweled crown on her head. She ran her hands down her wider hips and her bigger breasts, silently marveling at how much her pregnancy how changed her physically. That never happened to her mother. She also ran her hands along her small swell, wondering if Chihiro noticed. "Do you?"

He nodded and she gently took his chin.

"Use your words..."

"Y-Yes..."

She started kissing-tongue with him again, lowering him down onto the bed. He trembled and moaned in lust, making her smirk. He was most definitely a virgin if he was already _this_ excited over their activities, and they hadn't even had intercourse yet! Or, as Chihiro would likely put it, 'fornicate'.

Celestia straddled Chihiro again and unbuckled his belt, yanking his pants and underwear down to reveal his full-erect manhood. She covered her mouth slightly and giggled.

"It is a good thing you are doing this to prove your manliness, because _this_ won't do that for you," She teased, making him wince in embarrassment. She slowly slid her own panties down and lowered herself onto him, gasping a bit at how easily it slid in.

"C-Celes-san..." Chihiro tried, but Celestia silenced him by kissing him slowly, grabbing his hands and gyrating her hips around. She went slow at first to counteract their fast kissing, then slowed her kisses and touches down after a while as she sped up her hips. He moaned inside her mouth and closed his eyes, tightly clutching her hands.

"The walls are sound-proof, remember? If you need to scream, or moan, just get it all out. Nobody will be able to hear you scream," She whispered sweetly into his ear, relishing in the horrified look he gave her as her familiar words sunk in.

She continued to move her hips, suddenly gasping as he inadvertently hit her sweet spot and she started to cum, dripping her juices on his member. She kissed him again as she felt his own pressure beginning to build up, taking her hands off his and instead running them down his body. He cried out her name as he finally cummed himself, gasping.

Celestia quickly pulled herself off and gave him a sweet smile again, noticing the exhausted and shameful look on his face. She whispered to him that she took his virginity and watched horror replace those emotions.

=

Celestia carefully folded the nightgown up and pulled her crown off, placing both in her wardrobe. Chihiro had buckled his belt and was staring up at the ceiling blankly. She adjusted her own lingerie and crawled into bed with him, pulling him close to her. He tensed-up and closed his eyes. She was happy for once that her baby had stopped kicking and fidgeting around for once and instead rested peacefully inside of her. If she smoked, she would've been then, blowing the smoke out of her mouth for the aesthetic as Chihiro trembled beside her.

"A-Alter-Ego....t-that's what I'm going to call it," Chihiro took a deep breath and sat up, running his hand through his hair. "I-I still have to work some kinks out of it, but...s-should anything happen to me...i-it'll be ready to go..."

"Oh?" She asked curiously. "What will it be able to do?"

He glanced up at the camera in her room, and her features softened.

So, it _was_ a way to escape. She knew it. And he had kept it all to himself this entire time! Well, now she knew.

"Y-You aren't going to tell anyone else, right?" Chihiro asked slowly, trembling. She shook her head, playing with her hair.

"I swear on my life,"

"A-And...I won't tell anyone about this...any of it," He nodded.

"But why? Oowada-san might want to hear all about how you conquered your fear and became a true man by engaging in intercourse," She smiled, making him shiver.

"I-I....I can't. This is still wrong...I did something bad, and now I should confess o-or something..." He clutched the Rosary around his neck. "E-Even though...technically...it's y-your fault, isn't it...?"

Celestia stared at him, unamused. "Will you be sleeping here tonight, or in your own room?"

"My own room...s-sorry...I..." Chihiro swallowed. "I just need to sleep there. I have a hard time sleeping in other people's rooms, ya know?! A-And...I have to keep an eye on Alter-Ego..."

"Then you should get going then," Celestia waved to him as he scooted out of her bed and ran out of her room and into his own as if Hellhounds were on his heels. Well, knowing his beliefs, he likely thought they were. She put a hand on her stomach and sighed a bit.

Why did that seduction session calm her nerves so much?


	13. Chapter 2: A Boys’ Life is Like a Jungle; Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma reveals his second motive to the class, much to the distraught horror of both Mondo and Touko. Chihiro on the other hand sees this as an opportunity to get stronger. Unfortunately, his plans end in tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I hated writing the trial for this chapter, I changed too much of the plot! Hence why this chapter took so long to come out. Still, I tried my best and luckily the next trial has no major changes to it so we can all rest easily. 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

Yet another day of forcibly confining herself in her bedroom. She didn't eat breakfast with anyone and only briefly came out because Makoto insisted on hanging out with her. After that, though, it was right back into her room. The only time she came out was to have Makoto help her spy on Byakuya; or at least, that's what she _claimed._

In reality, she wanted to go after Kyoko, but she couldn't just admit that. They already thought she was a weird, gross freak who never showered and was fat and locked herself in her room all day writing. What would they think of her if they found out she was a dyke too?

If things were different, maybe Touko could stomach a few hours outside. The library was a decent-enough place, and nobody used the empty classrooms either. However, she needed to confine herself away. When she first woke up in that library, her first thought was of _her._

When she received her dorm, she made a beeline for the mirror and found several more cuts in her thighs; Roman numerals that she made to count her victims.

Touko had frozen then, trembling. Where did these come from? When did she have the chance to....?

That was when she knew she'd have to barricade herself in her room to eliminate any chances of her coming out and disrupting the others. In the long-term, it'd work out fine for everyone else and her; they wouldn't have to deal with her multitude of faults and she wouldn't have to deal with their judging stares.

It was supposed to be a regular night for her too, until Monokuma appeared on the television screen and called everyone down to the gym for an important announcement.

"Tch...i-it can't be that important..." She grumbled to herself as she left her room and headed down to the gym, arriving after several other people.

"Do you suppose it could be another motive?" Celestia wondered out-loud. She still wore a crown on her head and had her hands folded in front of her like she was some sort of queen. Even had to change her clothes...!

"I hope so. Things have grown rather dull and boring around here as of late," Byakuya snickered to himself.

"How can you even laugh in a situation like this?! Aren't you worried about what Monokuma is planning on doing to us?!" Aoi demanded, glaring at him.

"I do not understand you. You don't want to kill, yet you don't want to live here. Make up your mind. People like you honestly infuriate me. Mind your own business," Byakuya looked away. "You're going to waste your life away if you can't make choices like that,"

"I-I have a few ideas!" Aoi shot back.

"Ah, yes, you believed the police were going to rescue us, yet it's been nearly two weeks and there's no sign of them,"

"W-Well...."

"You have to admit, it _is_ rather suspicious," Kyoko said. "How could they ignore something like this happening to a group of high-school students?"

"I think it's irrelevant to what we're discussing, but-" Yasuhiro cut-in, but Touko glared at him.

"If it's not relevant, then don't say it..." She wanted to hear Kyoko talk more...

"The other day, I was hanging out around in the entrance hall, and I heard this really weird noise," He continued.

"What did it sound like?" Chihiro asked curiously.

"If I could put it into words...like construction. Like someone was trying to hammer something on a wall,"

"C-Could've just been your imagination...y-your ears were ringing," Touko shot back, glaring at him. Who would be doing construction in this place? Aside from maybe a meathead like Mondo, nobody was interested. He was wasting their time with pointless statements.

"Yasuhiro-kun didn't hear construction, you're right about that. He just heard explosions!" Monokuma announced, appearing on the podium. Several people jumped in surprise.

"Explosions?" Aoi asked, blinking.

Monokuma said nothing more and just waited.

"Why did you call us down here?" Kyoko asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"It's been yet another week, and you guys are all getting along just fine again. Which makes me a very bored and sad bear. Someone like me can't live without _some_ kind of excitement in their life, you know? Hence, I believe we need a new murderer," He started, eyeing everyone. Touko suppressed a shiver at how his eyes seemed to linger on her particularly long.

Did he know...?

No, he couldn't know.

"Therefore, I present to you your newest motive, your most embarrassing secrets." He held out several envelopes with everyone's last name written on them. "If a murder doesn't happen within twenty-four hours, then the whole world will know what's written on these papers! Happy reading," He tossed them out into the crowd and they all landed at their feet; everyone picked theirs up and started reading.

"W-What?!" Aoi cried out in disbelief.

"How'd you learn something like this?" Kiyotaka demanded.

Touko remained silent as she stared at her own, trembling.

_This shy bookworm; Fukawa Touko, is hiding the most awful secret ever-she's secretly the wanted mass murderer, Genocide Jack!_

How did Monokuma learn that, indeed. Not even the best detectives or officers in the country could pin the crimes down...they only had evidence that led them in circles. She was smart and sneaky despite her flamboyant methods. She'd never let herself get captured.

She glanced around at the others, shock and horror plastered on all of their faces.

Twenty-four hours...what would they think of her if they knew? They'd hate her, shun her, accuse her, when it wasn't her fault! It was all _her_ fault, not hers, blame _her,_ not Touko!

"Oh, one more thing before I forget. Chihiro-kun's secret was originally supposed to be that he was a crossdresser, but since he stopped doing that...I had to quickly scrape up something else for him," Monokuma added.

"H-Huh?" Chihiro looked up from his paper.

"Why does he receive such special treatment?" Celestia demanded.

"Because, what's the point of using something against him that's not a secret? Maybe the same would've happened to you all if you confessed to these before I got this motive going...bye," Monokuma vanished then, leaving several people staring angrily at Chihiro, Touko herself included.

It's not fair...Touko had tried her absolute hardest to keep hers under-wraps purely so people wouldn't hate her more than they already did, and this little brat puts a leather jacket on and suddenly gets a completely different secret?! Nothing was as bad as hers...who cared if he was a crossdresser? _He_ didn't have the blood of innocents on his hands like _she_ did.

"Actually, Monokuma makes a good point. Why don't we tell each other our secrets right now? If we all spill, then nobody has to kill to protect theirs, and we'll all have grown closer as a result!" Kiyotaka suggested.

"I agree...they're just embarrassing secrets. Wouldn't it feel good to get them off your chest?" Makoto tried to smile.

"I'm not sure..." Aoi hesitated, glancing down at hers.

"I will not share mine. Everyone else is free to do so as they wish, but I will keep mine until I die." Byakuya glanced away.

"Same here...I do not wish to share," Celestia boredly played with her hair.

 _What, you upset you got knocked-up with some druggie's child?_ Touko thought to herself. _Asahina is probably upset her tits are fake, and Togami...I don’t know. I don’t really care,_

“But it’s human nature to be curious once denied an answer! So tell us!” Hifumi started to tease Celestia.

“Non.” She looked away.

“Please? Just a hint?”

”Absolutely not.”

”Tell us, tell us, tell us!”

”I fucking said no, you disgusting tub of lard! Now shut the fuck up about it and leave me alone!”

Hifumi simply shrieked.

“Really? I cannot believe this! You all think murder is worth keeping your secrets over?” Kiyotaka threw his hands up.

“I-I don’t care if anyone else tells...I’m not telling mine. Never,” Touko grimaced, wrinkling up the paper. “I mean it,”

Makoto tried to give her a reassuring look, but she glared back. Their secrets were probably all shallow nonsense. They weren’t wanted criminals like her. In a Killing Game, she couldn’t just share such information at random anyway, it would practically be suicide.

“Hmph. I’m going to bed,” She announced. She noticed several people were still angrily staring at Chihiro, so she tossed another glare his way that made him flinch. He bit his lip and tried to show off his fists.

“Why are you all starin’ at me like that?! I-I ain’t done n-nothing wrong...! L-Leave me alone! O-Otherwise, I’ll crush your skulls!” He lamely threatened.

“Stop it,” Kyoko stared back at the class. “Are you really going to gang up on him over something like this?”

”Y-Yeah...this is just what Monokuma wants!” Makoto added.

Touko left the gymnasium and instantly ripped her paper to shreds the second she arrived at her room, shrieking. She threw the pieces into the trash and shook, feeling a certain darkness beginning to creep up within her.

It was _her._

 _And she was bored._

“G-Go away...” Touko spat, as if that’d do anything. She took her clothes off and instantly went to bed, tossing around from a nightmare where someone was carving numbers into her flesh with a hot pair of iron scissors.....so much blood...

^*^

Chihiro snuck into the warehouse after leaving the gymnasium, trembling. Everyone was upset with him again...and it all had to do with his stupid secret! He shouldn't have stopped dressing like a girl, it was clear that was all they ever thought of him as. Even if Mondo knew...he could live with that. It was just a mistake that Mondo saw him that night.

Then Chihiro wondered if it had to do with his appearance. He could dress and talk and act like Mondo all he wanted, but he’d never be intimating or tough like him. He’d be laughed off the streets. Maybe, if he became physically stronger, his classmates would all respect him and treat him like a boy. He’d truly be just like Mondo then!

Only Mondo could know though. Everyone else...he didn’t trust them with this. Mondo would understand though. Mondo would help him out. Because Mondo was a wonderful person and had a kind heart underneath all of his hostility. He was like the older brother Chihiro never had. He’d listen to Chihiro’s concerns and agree to train him.

He started to pull a blue tracksuit into his duffel bag when he froze upon hearing the warehouse door slowly shut.

“What are you doing out this late? Is it not past curfew?” Her sugary-sweet voice made him freeze entirely.

“Celes-san...” He blushed heavily. “Um, I’m just going for..a walk,”

“What of that?” She pointed to the blue tracksuit sleeve hanging out of his bag, making him blush even more and quickly stuff it back in.

Shoot, then she’d suspect something!

He didn’t want any trouble with Celestia again; it took him a half hour of praying to finally feel better after their previous encounter. Would she do it again?

“Are you, perhaps, going to...work-out?” She got a thoughtful expression on her face and stepped closer. “If so, I promise I shall be good and tell no-one of this encounter.”

”How can I trust you...?” Chihiro stared up at her, gasping when she suddenly grabbed his chin and forced him to look into her deep red eyes. So pretty...

_”C-Can we elope? I don’t s-see why not...it can be a-a promise. A promise that we’ll make it through this together and create a new generation,”_

_”Why not? Chihiro Ludenberg sounds quite pretty, does it not?”_

Chihiro blinked a few times, realizing Celestia’s lips were on his again. He shyly kissed back before he managed to pull away and tie his mask back on.

“It was a kiss for good luck,” Celestia said.

Where did that conversation come from...? What did it mean...?

“I-I have to get going...I-I’m late...” He zipped the bag up and waved to Celestia, who waved back boredly.

He then headed up the stairs silently and scanned his E-Handbook, wincing at how loud it was. If Celestia was still up, who knew who else could be too?

Chihiro silently closed the door and smiled a bit once he saw Mondo there, setting some weights up.

“Hey kid. Sorry if I seem a bit...off. Not used to being up this late,” He waved anyway, and Chihiro nodded. “Why did you insist on such a late workout time anyway?”

Chihiro carefully set his bag down on a bench and glanced around, opening one of the lockers. He placed his bag inside and then faced Mondo, taking a deep breath.

He stepped closer.

And then he told Mondo everything.

^*^

Mondo went right to the changing room after the motive was given out and started punching and lifting weights, trying to channel all of his anger out into raw strength. He kept thinking about the motive and the mocking tone spelled out on the paper; he ripped up and tossed it the moment he left. He didn't care if he got into trouble for it.

 _This dude, Oowada Mondo, is responsble for killing his older brother Daiya in cold blood! It was due to his recklessness he got killed when that truck nearly hit him!_

"Shit!" The bag nearly broke and fell off the ceiling with how hard Mondo had been punching it. "Fuck this..."

He glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearly time for Chihiro to meet with him. After they had received their secrets, Chihiro managed to get him alone and practically begged for them to work out that night together. He wouldn't really say why, only that 'it's really important nobody else knows about this'.

If it were anyone else, Mondo would've been more cautious and assumed Chihiro was planning on killing him, but...it was Chihiro. He couldn't actually hurt anyone, he was too kind. That's why he had so much trouble pretending to be him.

And why did he get to have an entirely different secret?! It wasn't fair. Nobody had a secret worse than he did; he was a murderer. And worst of all it wasn't even much of an accident; Daiya died due to his own recklessness. If he hadn't gotten so cocky and pompous Daiya would've still been alive...!

Monokuma was just toying with them. He knew Mondo couldn't share his secret with anyone. They'd shun him and hate him...and what of his gang? When they found out, they'd likely cut all ties to him and kick him out, all because he got their former leader killed. They hadn't known it was Mondo himself that killed him.

"Oowada-kun!" Chihiro's cheerful voice reached him, and Mondo turned around to see him standing there. He said he'd wear a blue tracksuit to match his balck one. Speaking of which, he should probably get changed into that...

"Hey kid. Sorry if I seem off-it tonight. I'm not used to being awake this late," He said quickly, lying. He couldn't tell Chihiro was was actually on his mind. Luckily, Chihiro seemed to buy it as he went to put his bag away. Mondo pulled out some dumbbells for them to use later, all different sizes.

"E-Everyone is really upset with me...because my secret was changed. They don't understand...why I did this in the first place," Chihiro's voice was low, lower than Mondo had ever heard it, even when he was still dressing as a girl. He took a step over to Mondo. "W-When I was growing up...everyone thought I was weak. Well, they didn't just _think_ it...they'd tell me it. They'd bully me and beat me up and call me names...s-saying I was too weak to be a boy...saying I didn't deserve to be a boy..."

Mondo waited.

"A-After a while...I-I couldn't take it anymore...s-so I decided to start dressing as a girl so nobody could call me weak anymore. N-Nobody bullies a girl for being weak, right? B-Because that's what she's supposed to be...b-but...I still wasn't very happy. I couldn't befriend anyone because of it and getting in a siutation like this only made me feel worse. It was like I was a ticking time-bomb. I-I was still afraid of coming clean, but...you accidentally catching me in the bathroom made me realize I couldn't dress like a girl anymore around everyone, no matter how much I still wanted to. S-So...I started trying to mimic you,"

"What does this have to do with me specifically though?" Something felt...off.

"B-Because! Everyone is still giving me a hard time over my appearance...I thought if you helped me train and become stronger, I could face everyone easier! I picked you because you're everything I want to be! You're so strong and tough and you don't care what anyone says about you....I told myself, if I ever have to change, I want to be just like Oowada-kun. I admire you," He smiled happily.

"What...?" Mondo finally looked over at him.

"I admire you! I want to make a change and get stronger, so I decided to emulate you and ask you to train with me. You're just like the older brother I've never had!" His smile never wavered.

 _I admire you and want to be just like you, Big Brother! You're so cool and everything I wanna be when I grow up!_

His features darkened.

"You think it's that easy, huh? Bastard...it takes more than just that to be a true man. You think it's going to be easy for you, just because before you could put a dress on and never think about your issues? It's way more than that. You want to be just like me because of it, huh? You admire me and think I'm 'cool' and 'inspiring', don't you? I'm a terrible person to emulate. I've killed people before. Do you think you could do that? Live out the rest of your life with blood on your hands? I don't think you could. Because you're not strong. You're not as strong as me, and you never will be! I'm the strongest in this school, stronger than you, and I'm definitely stronger than my older brother!"

Mondo wasn't even thinking at that point, he just saw nothing but red. Chihiro's face had fallen and he looked back in confusion, but Mondo didn't care. How dare he...?! This was all his fault...!

He grabbed a nearby dumbbell and swung it, swung it hard. He heard the cracking of a skull and the splatter of blood, and then it all came back to him.

"W-What...?"

At his feet was Chihiro, blood pouring out from the back of his head. His eyes and mouth were open in shock, and in Mondo's hand, he was still holding a dumbbell with blood on the other end.

"Shit...oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" He dropped the dumbbell and quickly checked Chihiro's pulse and heartbeat, still muttering to himself. He couldn't possibly be dead, there was still hope, there was still hope..

Chihiro didn't have a heartbeat or any sign of breathing.

He was dead.

"Oh shit...what have I done...? I swear I didn't mean to..."

His blood was getting on Mondo's jacket sleeve, but he found he didn't care. It was like when Daiya's blood was getting on his white jacket.

"I'm sorry, Fujisaki-kun..."

What should he do next? His first thought was to just leave Chihiro where he was, but something about that didn't sit right with him. Chihiro trusted him. He admired him. He didn't want anyone else to know about the workouts because he wanted to surpise them and ward off more teasing. He wanted them to think he was strong.

Carefully, he scooped Chihiro up in his arms, carrying him like a groom would carry his newly-wedded bride, and placed him on the bench for one of the excercise machines. He gently propped Chihiro up, putting the bloodied dumbbell at his feet and putting one of his arms above his head. He grimaced at the thought of being so handsy with Chihiro, but Chihiro would understand. He was only doing what he'd want.

He took a step back to check his work, making it look like Chihiro was trying to lift weights and instead lifted one too heavy and accidentally dropped it on his head, killing him. Would the Monokuma File acknowledge that? He supposed he could worry about that later. He softly ran his hands along Chihiro's eyelids, closing them as well as his mouth. Would that be too suspicious? Didn't matter either. It'd make Chihiro happy, and that was all that mattered.

Mondo looked around the changing room once more, not seeing anything else out of place. He took one last look at Chihiro and winced.

"I'm so sorry....I couldn't be the role model you wanted. I'm sorry I did this to you..." He whispered, leaving after that.

Chihiro would've been pleased with what he did, he wanted to think. He gave him more respect than Daiya. When they found him in the morning, they'd all assume he died from a training accident and talk about how tragic it was, he wanted to be strong so badly it literally killed him. How manly _that_ was; to train yourself to death.

He hurried along to his dorm, having trouble falling asleep. The few times he did manage to doze off, his dreams were filled with repeated images of Daiya, Leon, and Chihiro all dying, over and over again.

 _I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I let you down..._

He didn't even know who he was saying it to, only that when he woke up, he was in the middle of saying it, feeling as though his heart had been ripped out.

^*^

Byakuya was awake for the night, dealing with Touyko anxiously ringing his doorbell off the hook. How did that not wake anyone else up? He had proceeded to tell her to leave him alone, only to see the anxiousness in her weary eyes.

Whatever she was worried about, it was related to her secret, no doubt about it. She needed to tell someone and get it off her chest, but she also couldn't risk the humilation and rejection that was sure to happen.

"Tell me what your secret is. I won't tell anyone else, and if you do, I'll take you out on a date," He said quickly. Her eyes flickered up in recognition and she agreed a little too quickly and spilled her secret to him in a low voice. He smirked down at her and told her to head back to bed.

Once he was sure she was gone, he snuck around the black corridors of the school and headed upstairs, hiding behind one of the walls next to the changing rooms. A few seconds later, Mondo emerged, glancing around guiltily. Byakuya slowly peeked into the changing room and found the bleeding corpse of Chihiro left behind.

Well then. It seemed his job would be made a thousand times easier.

He headed to the library, keeping his steps light, and yanked the extension cord out from where he originally plugged it in for the lamp, slowly winding it up and carrying it to the changing room. He pulled Chihiro's body off the bench and tightly wound the cord around his wrists, making sure they stuck out in a crucifixion positon. He hanged the body on a piece of equipment, tightening the cord to make sure Chihiro wouldn't accidentally fall from the unbalanced weight. He tightened the cords more. Chihiro's head drooped forward, making blood fall into his face.

Byakuya gingerly took his finger and dipped it into the cold blood, wincing at the gooey texture and smell. Forcing those thoughts aside, he took his finger and wrote jaggedly on the wall: 'Bloodbath Fever'. He then forced Chihiro’s eyes open, pulling the eyelids up to make an expression of horror. He then stepped back to admire his handiwork.

Perfect. Chihiro had the added bonus of actually being a guy, so it should be even harder to find out who the true culprit was. Of course, Byakuya would stop things and reveal his hand if it started to go too far, but...hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that. Games were only fun if you could play them, after all. Or more like, you should get enjoyment out of playing a game. It's what they were there for.

And Byakuya felt as though he was about to have a lot of fun playing this one.

^*^

Mondo’s morning was already off to a terrible start. He barely slept the night prior; plagued by nightmares, he woke with very little appetite, and worst of all his wakeup call was Monokuma himself, sitting right at the foot of his bed.

“B-Bastard-!” He tried to reach his hand out for Monokuma, who quickly dodged.

“Don’t you remember the last time you tried doing that?”

“I’ll do it again,” Mondo threatened.

“I came here to wake you up because...someone was being a naughty boy last night, wasn’t he? Couldn’t own up to his own weakness, so he killed someone angrily because he was jealous,” Monokuma snickered. “Several of your classmates are already awake, and I told them something horrible had happened...you should get down there yourself and see!”

 _He’s trying to make me angry...rial me up...! He knows that I already know what happened last night..._

Monokuma vanished again, making Mondo blink and get out of bed. He supposed it was a good thing he had no appetite, because there was no way in Hell that he’d spend thirty minutes of his life in that cafeteria.

Maybe it would all be fine.

 _It was Chihiro’s strength that you killed over...you were only upset over his. You wouldn’t have thought the same for Kiyotaka or Makoto-_

He headed up the stairs to the changing room, noticing the blue door was left wide open and several people were staring at something in horror.

Why were they so horrified over Chihiro? Even if he accidentally fell off the bench, it wouldn’t be gruesome. Did the thought of him trying to bulk up really upset them that much?

”I wonder who could have done such a thing,” Celestia sighed as she shuffled past him, a hand on her stomach. Mondo ignored her and stepped inside, his jaw dropping.

Chihiro was suspended from the exercise equipment, blood dripping down his figure.

“What the fuck?!” Mondo shouted in surprise. He didn’t do that, he knew he didn’t do that, he left Chihiro’s body on the exercise bench! Who did that? Who would be so vile as to desecrate someone else’s corpse-

“What an interesting turn of events,” Byakuya snickered to himself as he wandered in. Makoto and Kyoko were a few steps behind him, Makoto taking one look at the scene and screaming loudly.

_You and me both, kid._

_You and me both._

=

It was hard to volunteer as a crime-scene watcher again, knowing he was the culprit this time around, but he had to do it to keep a closer eye on Byakuya. Everyone else as well, for that matter. Byakuya messed with Chihiro, Mondo felt that was a fact. He seemingly had it out for Chihiro ever since the first trial and was likely waiting for the perfect opportunity to humiliate him.

Still, it seemed almost _too_ easy. Mondo wasn’t the best at detective shit or stuff like that, but even he knew the most obvious answer was usually the wrong one.

He stood beside Sakura then at the door, watching Makoto and Kyoko slowly investigate the scene with several of the others, trying to piece together what had happened.

“This dumbbell has blood on it,” Kyoko pointed out.

“So it’s the murder weapon!” Aoi said. “The file says Chihiro died from blunt force trauma,”

”Maybe that was a mistake...? I mean, he was all alone up here, right? So he might’ve killed himself on accident,” Makoto sighed.

“I don’t think the file would ever lie to us. Monokuma has no reason to hide information like that,” Kyoko responded.

Aoi pouted a bit. “I just don’t like this...having to investigate again...Fujisaki-kun was a close friend of ours...”

“He might’ve been, but he’s dead now. Just a corpse with liquid dripping out of it. An object you shouldn’t be afraid of,” Byakuya crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“My, you are awfully positive today,” Celestia tittered.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” Mondo demanded, unable to let that slide. “Fujisaki-kun was and still is a friend of ours! He’s not just some object, you know! Why don’t you have more fucking respect?!”

“He’s right though. If we don’t solve this case, we’ll all get in trouble. And if the killer really was Genocide Jack, then that’s even more of an incentive to get us moving,” Kyoko sighed.

“Exactly. It’s a gruesome sight as well. I’m sure we’ll all feel better once it’s removed from our vision,” Byakuya smirked.

“Shut up!” Mondo was getting pretty damn sick of his attitude. It was him who messed with Chihiro, he knew that then. Why else would he be acting so smug and careless about everything? He knew he did it to keep playing at this stupid mystery game he was bragging about the other day...

 _I’m sorry...I failed you again. They’re not talking about you in...a way you’d want to be remembered.._

“Are you okay?” Makoto asked curiously, and Mondo clutched his fist.

“He was stronger than anyone else here realized...I just wish I could’ve done more for him...” He admitted, thinking about how he tried to fix Chihiro after his death. He really should’ve done more, like stayed up all night guarding the scene and leaving in the morning or something...it was extremely risky, but it would’ve prevented Byakuya from ruining what he had done before.

“Do you think he was killed someplace else and then dragged here? It wouldn’t be hard to do,” Makoto asked Sakura next to him.

“Perhaps, but I am of the mind that Fujisaki-san came here himself. He wanted to get stronger and start working out, but he couldn’t do it alone. I think he was with someone last night to help him..” She trailed off slightly. “He was murdered at such a late time at night...he was likely trying to keep his progress a secret from us because he feared more ridicule,”

Aoi sighed to herself as she looked at the equipment, trying to find more clues. Her skort was riding up again to reveal the magenta shorts underneath.

“Have you found anything?” Makoto asked.

“No...I think the only evidence here aside from the freaky mimicry is that dumbbell,” Aoi pouted. “This is hard!”

“You think it’s hard to just find evidence...you were never in love with her the way that I was..” Hifumi said quietly. “There was so much that we were supposed to do together. She could’ve been my real-life waifu...a laifu!”

Celestia sighed. “You _do_ realize Fujisaki-san was male, right? Unless you are just that delusional,”

“It’s not delusion at all! She was made to dress up all pretty for our eyes, when we should’ve realized how uncomfortable that made her! This is her true self, a tomboy! A reverse-trap!”

Kyoko stared at him levelly. “Yamada-san. Monokuma will make good on his promise if we can’t figure this crime out and execute us all. If we want to have a chance at solving this, we all need to be on the same page,”

”I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at, Lady Kirigiri...” He blinked.

”Fujisaki-san was undoubtedly male. When we have our trial over this, you constantly insisting he is anything else will slow us down and get us nowhere,” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “So I want you to give his body a good once-over before we continue with anything else,”

“B-But...it’s Madame Fujisaki! I can’t just touch the body of a girl without her permission, let alone a dead one, let alone one as pure as her! She’d never forgive me..” He trembled.

“Do it, Yamada-san,”

“O-Okay! Okay!” He shrieked upon seeing the icy and serious look on Kyoko’s face, slowly stepping up to Chihiro and reaching his hand out. He slowly ran his hand down his figure until he reached the crotch area, gently giving it a squeeze. “H-Huh?!” He squeezed it again. “T-This can’t be...! This whole time, Madame Fujisaki wasn’t a reverse-trap at all, but....an actual trap?!”

Kyoko sighed. “May we please continue on with the actual investigation?”

Mondo grimaced a bit. Everyone already knew Chihiro’s secret, yes, but it still didn’t mean they could just grope him freely. He was dead, but he still deserved some respect.

“I just feel horrible...I wish I could apologize for what I said to him in the cafeteria a few days ago,” Aoi said. “I had no idea it would affect him as much as it did...though I guess I should’ve been more observant. He was a very strange girl. Never wanting to hang out with us...” She played with her earrings. “Maybe he was always super shy around us because he’s the type of guy that loves being spoiled by women! You know, one of those herbivore types!”

Makoto laughed awkwardly. “I somehow doubt that was the entire reason,” He then shyly followed after Byakuya after having something whispered to him, leaving the room. Mondo huffed.

What could Byakuya possibly even want from him? If he could follow them, he would.

Touko ran into the room then and let out an ear-piercing scream.

“N-No...! T-This can’t....no! Why?! Why?! Why me...?! Why....did this...have to...happen...?!” Her eyes rolled back and she fainted right on the floor.

“Shit!” He tried to catch her, but she fell too fast and nearly hit her head.

“She’s knocked-out cold, guys! And I didn’t like how hard her head hit the floor there!” Yasuhiro cried.

“It seems as though she has bad hemophobia. A fear of blood,” Celestia explained, putting her hands on her stomach. “She must have a rough time on Halloween,”

”We have to take her back to her room!” Aoi cried, carefully trying to lift her up. “Ishimaru-san, come help me!”

“Right!” Kiyotaka was by her side in a second, carefully holding up her other side. They placed her arms on their shoulders and managed to successfully pick her up and carry her out.

Touko was acting strange...really strange.

The remainder of the class just stood around and awkwardly searched, evidently not having any other leads.

“I do hope they will not be gone for very long...we have exhausted all of our search options in here,” Celestia sighed, placing her hands on her stomach. She walked away.

“Agreed.” Kyoko followed after her, both leaving the room.

They didn’t have any more evidence to pin on him, right? They just had the dumbbell and that meant nothing. They’d all figure out Byakuya did it...

But then they’d all get executed, wouldn’t they? That wouldn’t be right. They’d hate him for killing Chihiro the way that he had, but at least Chihiro would be pleased nobody innocent had to die in his name.

^*^

Kyoko wandered out into the entrance hall, finding a box set up near the door. Curious, she walked over and found four E-Handbooks inside. She turned them all on.

“Maizono-san....Enoshima-san...Fujisaki-san...and...Kuwata-san...” She frowned at the last one.

It was still clearly operational, despite the beating it took.

The rules clearly stated one wasn’t allowed to lend their E-Handbook out to anyone, but was it really ‘lending’ if the original owner was dead?

Was it possible that one of the girls used Leon’s E-Handbook to gain access to the mens’ changing room and then murdered Chihiro? None of the girls were really acting suspicious enough, but it was still a thought to keep in mind.

^*^

Touko trembled inside of her room, growing sick and tired of hearing their constant knocks and rings. Why couldn’t they just take the hint and leave her alone?!

Aoi and Kiyotaka wouldn’t leave her alone, and then Makoto and Byakuya. She wouldn’t open her door up for anyone!

“I-I’m not coming out...I-I can’t...someone will get hurt a-again...!”

Genocide Jack had killed Chihiro last night, she was sure of it. She had been growing restless inside and longed for some excitement to get herself off. And Touko had to dearly pay the price for her carelessness.

“Fukawa-san...we still have the trial to go to though,” Makoto tried gently.

Touko slipped her door open a crack and trembled. “I-I’m not going...a-and you can’t make me...!”

“It’s mandatory for all of us to attend Class Trials, no matter what. You have to go as well regardless of how you personally feel,” Byakuya said.

“Y-You can’t make me go anywhere...y-you’ll have to drag me,” She threatened.

“Fine.” Byakuya reached his hand in the darkness and grabbed her wrist harshly, making her yelp in surprise as he yanked her out of her room and down the hall.

“N-No...!” She tried digging her feet into the floor, making them scrape loudly. Still Byakuya kept at it, shoving her next to the elevator and making her nearly lose her balance.

“It seems as though we’re all here now,” Celestia tittered.

“How troublesome,” Kyoko sighed, making Touko glare at her.

”Y-You’re hardly on time for anything...! You should be l-lucky nobody drags _you_ around!”

“I’m preoccupied with other things,”

“M-Maybe you’d like being dragged around...someone like you reeks of being a major masochist!”

“Speaking of yourself, darling?” Celestia tittered again.

^*^

The descent into the courtroom seemed to take twice as long than it did before, and Mondo couldn’t soothe the ache in the pit of his stomach beside himself. He hated that feeling, of nervousness and anxiety and fear; no man should ever feel that way, and yet he did.

Even the actual courtroom did little to soothe his nerves; all done up in opulent gold like what he’d use to decorate his hog with or the designs on his jacket.

Leon and Chihiro had funeral portraits set out where they had last stood only a week ago, making Mondo swallow at the innocent look Chihiro’s poster was giving him.

Monokuma truly _was_ toying with them.

Or, well, more toying with _him,_ but still.

And thus, the trial began.

They all had concluded the dumbbell was the murder weapon, though they were still unsure of what had happened specifically. Did Chihiro try to exercise alone and got killed on accident when he hurt himself, or did someone else off him? The Monokuma File said ‘blunt force trauma’ was the cause of death, not a concussion.

“And let us not forget...regardless of who truly killed him, we cannot deny Genocide Jack had a hand in all of this. He was crucified with ‘Bloodbath Fever’ written on the wall in his own blood.” Byakuya put in.

“You’re still on that shit?!” Mondo grumbled. “Just cut it out already,”

“Why should I? In fact, why don’t we just ask Genocide Jack ourselves...”

“How? None of us are serial killers...” Hifumi sighed.

“Why don’t I let Fukawa explain it?” Byakuya pointed at Touko, who trembled suddenly.

”H-Huh?! Me?! You really think I’m the one who did this?! W-Why...?!” She cried.

“She is acting very suspicious again,” Celestia sighed.

“Don’t okay dumb with me. The other night, you revealed your secret to me...that you harbored another personality and that it was none other than Genocide Jack!” Byakuya pointed at her. “Everything at the crime scene was perfectly matched to how their crimes were committed!”

”B-But...you promised...t-that you wouldn’t tell..” Touko cried, yanking on her braids.

“I lied.”

She glared at him in annoyance before she suddenly gasped and fell right off her podium, hitting her head.

“Is she okay?!” Aoi gasped.

Within a second, Touko had jumped up and grabbed the sides of her podium...but she was laughing with a wicked look in her eyes.

“Ta-da! Here I am! I’m so thrilled to finally meet everyone! It’s me, the one and only murderous fiend, Genocide Jack!” She laughed.

“What the fuck?!” That seemed to be Mondo’s choice exclamation as of late. Not only was Genocide Jack well...a chick, but she was also a student?!

He glanced over at Byakuya, still looking proud. That bastard....he set this whole thing up to humiliate Chihiro and expose Touko, that was a for-sure thing now.

Did he ever quit? It seemed he truly did get his kicks from harassing those weaker than him.

Damn it...

Kyoko was looking at him carefully from one side of him, but he ignored her.

“Anyway....! I didn’t kill him!” Genocide Jack continued on.

“And how do you expect us to believe that?” Kiyotaka demanded. “All of the signs are there!”

”Yeah, the quote, the crucifixion, not to mention the fact that he’s a boy and you only kill boys,” Makoto added.

“But it would have been impossible for her to kill him, as we discovered the corpse in the changing room. The mens’. She could not have gone in there,” Celestia said.

“That’s not true. I found a stack of old E-Handbooks by the main entrance. Kuwata-san’s was there and fully functional still. She could’ve used that to enter the changing room and then killed him,” Kyoko crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Isn’t lending those to other people off-limits?” Yasuhiro asked.

“It’s not considered ‘lending’ if the original owner is dead,”

Mondo just looked away.

So that was it, then. She’d get executed and so would everyone else in his place. He would’ve failed everyone again. There was no other evidence that she hadn’t.

”While it’s true that he was a super cute shota, I didn’t kill him!” Genocide Jack laughed. “I thought a group of junior detectives would be having an easier time solving this!”

“But all the signs-!” Makoto protested.

“No no no, only two signs were present, Mc’Donald’s. Yes, Bloodbath Fever was written on the wall in his blood, and yes, he is a hot guy, but that’s where the similarities stop!” She explained. “You know a ton, how do I kill my victims!”

”Blood loss from...crucifixion,”

”Huh-uh, and how did Cheerio die?”

”Blunt force trauma,”

“And how was he strung up?”

”By an extension cord...”

“But none of that really matters, you know? You’re locked in a school without access to your usual tools, so you improvised!” Yasuhiro accused.

“Wrong again!” She then took a step back from her podium and lifted her skirt up, revealing her thighs and part of her underwear. She yanked out some scissors. “Ta-da! I never go anywhere without these babies!”

“And the body most definitely wasn’t crucified, just hastily strung up,” Kyoko said. “So you can’t be the killer,”

”Yeah, because she always crucified her victims with scissors,” Makoto added with a tone of finality. “So she can’t be the culprit,”

”That’s what I was tryna tell you guys! I’m shocked you didn’t listen to a pretty girl like me!” Genocide Jack tilted her head.

“But then the question is...who strung up his body like that?” Aoi wondered.

 _Byakuya, isn’t it obvious?_ Mondo knew better than to say that out-loud, but he could certainly think it all he wanted.

“Togami-kun...he was the only one with information on Genocide Jack and the method of killing,” Makoto pointed out.

“So he did it! He killed Fujisaki-kun!” Aoi snapped. “It makes sense, you disliked him since day one,”

“...I will admit to messing with the crime scene, but he was already dead by the time I got up there,” Byakuya looked away.

“Was he killed somewhere else and then dragged to the changing room?” Hifumi asked.

“No, that wouldn’t make sense. Fujisaki-san went up to the changing room out of his own free will. He likely wanted to get stronger without our knowledge,” Kyoko was eyeing him carefully from the corner of her eye.

Shit, she knew!

“I think it’s a very likely possibility he decided to train with someone,” Sakura added.

“And that someone would’ve been a guy...” Aoi pouted. “But that leads us nowhere! It’s like earlier when we tried to investigate and had no leads...”

”Maybe if someone saw the culprit...or the victim...but only they saw each other, right?” Yasuhiro said.

”Actually, I saw Fujisaki-kun last night,” Celestia spoke up with a giggle. “I was quite disappointed with him for breaking curfew and wandering around late at night. I saw he was carrying a duffel bag with a tracksuit in it. I assumed he was going to work out, especially because he said he was running late. He must have been going to meet with someone,”

”And the person he met with was the culprit!” Aoi gasped.

“W-Who was it?!” Mondo yelled, trying to play along. They were getting closer and closer....

”I find it hard to believe he’d want to train with anyone after how roughly we treated him,” Makoto sighed.

“Maybe the person was someone whom he genuinely trusted in spite of all that. Someone whom he knew he could always rely on to protect him,” Celestia wondered.

“If we just think about it...the culprit should be obvious,” Kyoko smirked.

They started talking about the bag and tracksuit..how would that prove anything? Chihiro locked them both in a locker and if Mondo wanted to get them, he’d have to break down the locker and that was just too suspicious. Knowing what kind of bag it was wasn’t going to solve anything!

“He picked the tracksuit that he did...to match the culprit,” Kyoko continued.

“So we just have to find someone with a tracksuit that matches his blue one!” Mondo suddenly blurted out, making everyone look at him.

“And how would you know what colour it was?”

Shit.

”Because I saw him walking around last night...”

“Oh? But when I told him the sleeve was sticking out, he shoved it back in. Almost as if he didn’t want anyone else to see,” Celestia said.

“And she didn’t tell this to anyone else..” Makoto added. “His tracksuit was blue, right?”

”Yes...”

“Maybe he came across the bag and tracksuit while we were investigating!” Kiyotaka insisted.

“No, the evidence would’ve been long destroyed by then,” Kyoko sighed. “I’ve been suspicious of Oowada-kun ever since the start of the trial though..”

”Why?” Makoto asked curiously.

“Ah, I see what you did. You lied about knowing the importance of the tracksuit to get the culprit to freak out and misspeak, thinking you assumed them,” Celestia gasped. “That is quite clever,”

Yeah, real fucking clever...

”I suspected him because...Fujisaki-san admired him greatly. If he was going to work out with anyone, it’d be him...” Kyoko explained. “It’s quite sad when a friend kills another friend,”

”Now hold on!” Mondo demanded, feeling his face starting to heat up. “Just because I had a slip of the tongue, that automatically makes me the killer?! What about Celes-san? She was up at night and wandering around. She didn’t like the guy at all!”

”My reasons for being up late are my business and mine only.” There was a dangerous glitter in her eyes. “However, I can assure you I did not murder Fujisaki-kun. Doing so would...inconvenience me,”

Shit.

”Well, what about Togami-san? He admitted to framing Fukawa-san, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for him to kill Chihiro-kun too! He had it out for the little guy!”

“I purposefully messed with the crime scene, that is true. However, I did not kill him, as he was already dead when I got there. I was strolling the halls last night as well when I saw you, Oowada, running out of the changing room looking guilty. If you have nothing to hide, then explain to us why you were,” Byakuya smirked.

Shit!

“Maybe he was just running away because the sight of his dead friend was too much for him!” Kiyotaka chimed in.

”Y-Yeah, I was! And besides, you have a lot of gall to accuse me like that. How do I know you’re not lying about having seen me?” He demanded.

“Yeah, you did kinda have it out for Fujisaki-kun...it wouldn’t be impossible for you to murder him and then blame Fukawa-san to get rid of two birds with one stone,” Aoi pouted.

“This can’t be it...” Makoto mumbled to himself.

“I do believe we have run out of evidence,” Celestia put a hand on her back, sighing. “And we still accused the wrong person...what a pity...”

”What were you doing in the changing room then?” Kyoko questioned, looking right at Mondo. “You said you ran away after seeing Fujisaki-san’s corpse, but what led you to be in there in the first place?”

“A late-night workout, nothing more than that,” Mondo insisted, trying to glance away from her studying gaze.

Byakuya looked over at Makoto. “Well, I guess that’s that. We’re all out of evidence and leads, and whoever the murderer was won’t confess. I guess that means we all lost,”

“There has to be _something_!” Makoto thought desperately.

They would all die...die and he would go free. All because he didn’t confess. Makoto would die...Kiyotaka would die...all of them. Once again, his stubbornness would lead another person to their grave. Just like with Chihiro. And just like it did for-

“Whoever the killer was must’ve caught poor Fujisaki by surprise. His eyes are open and his face is contorted in shock,” Byakuya smirked.

Mondo clenched his fist. This bastard...!

”Only because _you_ forced his eyes open after they were already closed!” He shouted, trying to bite back his words once he caught everyone staring.

Shit. They did it again, didn’t they?!

“Oh? And how would you know about the state of his eyes, Oowada? Unless you were in there before me,” Byakuya said.

“And if you were, that would mean you were the person Fujisaki-san trusted enough to train with,” Kyoko smirked. “Making you the murderer,”

Mondo felt his features darken as he hanged his head. He could lie all he wanted to, but what was the point? They caught him.

“No way! There has to be more evidence than that! You can’t just accuse him baselessly like that!” Kiyotaka demanded.

“Ishimaru-kun...it would be nice if you did not run us in circles again,” Celestia smiled sweetly.

“Just do it...execute me already. I can’t live like this anymore...” Mondo felt himself trembling and placed his hands on the sides of his podium.

“Hm? But aren’t you guys just a little bit curious as to why this even happened?” Monokuma snickered. “It’s quite a beautiful story about toxic masculinity!”

Everyone was silent as Monokuma subjected them to the story of Chihiro’s life, explaining how he was weak and sickly from birth and got picked on as he grew up for being weak. So, he started dressing like a girl and trying to live as one.

“Oh, but he hated it. He couldn’t stand the thought of waking up every morning and looking at himself in the mirror, being forced into flouncy things just to conform...he was repressed badly. I’m sure you could figure _that_ one out. When he came here, he still kept at it, terrified of what you guys would think if you learned the truth...but Mondo-kun found out anyway. So he was forced to literally man-up. But you guys treated him so awkwardly over it it drove him into Mondo-kun’s arms..and at the receiving end of his envy and guilt. Why was Mondo-kun so upset? Well...”

Then Monokuma began to tell his story, of how his older brother Daiya had led the biggest motorcycle gang in Japan and Mondo was his right-hand-man. His brother had wanted to retire and decided to have a huge race with Mondo in the streets to celebrate.

“But Mondo-kun got cocky. He wanted to prove he was the better one out of the two by far. So he drove recklessly into the highway and didn’t see a truck that was coming as a result. Daiya-san drove in at the last second and knocked him out of the way, making him get hit instead. Daiya-san died in his younger brother’s arms, telling him to keep the gang together. But Mondo-kun could never admit to his gang that it was his own recklessness that got their leader killed. He just wasn’t man enough.

Chihiro-kun decided to train with him because he admired him and idolized him and wanted to be just like him. And Mondo-kun was jealous of the fact he could be stronger than him, and felt guilt over how much their relationship resembled the one him and his brother used to share,”

Mondo was still staring down at the floor when Monokuma finished. He could feel all of their eyes on him.

“Yeah, I did it. I killed Fujisaki-kun....because...I couldn’t take the guilt anymore! He was just like me when I was younger and I idolized my big brother like crazy. To know he wanted to go down a similar path...to know he could be a stronger and ultimately better person than me...!” He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt depressed. Extremely depressed. “He was a better person than me, and I did something I can never take back..”

”What of his eyes?” Kyoko asked.

“He didn’t want me to tell anyone else that we were training because he was afraid of what you all would’ve said. He wanted to be seen as strong...so I moved his body and closed his eyes to make it look like he accidentally killed himself while training. That’s manly, right? He would’ve thought so,” Mondo sighed again. “Come on, Monokuma. Stop delaying it. They know why I did it,”

“There must be some sort of mistake! He couldn’t have done it, he couldn’t have!” Kiyotaka cried.

“I said to be quiet, did I not?” Celestia glared at him.

“He’s right, let’s not wait a moment longer. Time for the Punishment!” Monokuma laughed.

Mondo felt a silver collar wrap around his neck and drag him away, making him tremble more. He assumed it was some sort of primal thing; his actual mind was blank. He felt nothing.

He was rushed past the funeral portrait of Chihiro and he registered it was in black-and-white.

When he was tied up to the motorcycle and heard it revving, he still felt nothing. His classmates were watching from behind the fence, unreadable expressions on their faces.

 _I’m sorry..._ he thought to himself once more before the bike sped off.

The last thing on his mind was that right before he was killed, Chihiro’s eyes no longer looked like the sun behind grey rainclouds.

Instead, they looked as though the sun had finally come out.

^*^

The whole class was silent again after witnessing Mondo’s execution. Kyoko had glanced away while Celestia had her mouth covered again. The only noise came from Kiyotaka, who was sobbing on the floor on his knees.

“And don't make the mistake again of voting for yourself. Otherwise, there will be dire consequences,” Monokuma threatened. “Well, that’s that. Good night!”

“Wait.” Kyoko stopped him. “You mentioned Fujisaki-san’s secret was changed because he stopped crossdressing. What was his new one?”

He laughed at her. “I don’t need to tell you!”

And then he vanished.

It took everyone a long time to gather up their bearings and head to bed, feeling the awful experience of despair once again.


	14. Interlude: Gossip Forum 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next round of episodes are broadcast to the nation, and afterwards everyone instantly takes to their favourite gossip forum threads to discuss theories, plot points, characters, all that good stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made a Pinterest board for the fanfic here! 
> 
> https://www.pinterest.com/bradyelizabeth2/murder-high-aesthetics/
> 
> However due to a major character spoiler I would advise not checking it out until you’ve read the entirety of this fanfic’s version of Go Forth Galactic Hero

_~LoveAndKisses20~: New episode just dropped! What do you all think of it?_

_Cupcake Emily: The plot thickens! Oowada-san was a murderer twice over? And Fujisaki-san was actually a guy! And Togami-san is manipulative as heck! Oh, it's all so exciting!_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I called it! I knew Fujisaki-san was a boy! I found old pictures of him a while back, remember? He dressed like a boy back then._

_WaffleLover: I felt more bad for him this time around than I did for the last victim. I mean, poor dude. Can't be easy to have your secret exposed like that on national television, especially in front of the one person you admire_

_Akiko: so, togami turned out to be a bit of a bastard. i like that_

_hotnready: same, though my heart is still on kirigiri_

_Peepz: I knew he was a bit of a bastard, but damn! messing with the crime scene like that?! He basically just dug his own grave_

_steponmeibukimioda: Speaking of which...Celes-san...being pregnant. Was not expecting that_

_Akiko: haha her baby's probably gonna die_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Don't be so pessimistic like that!_

_Peepz: I mean, she's technically not wrong. She could get murdered or executed, it doesn't matter. The baby's gone_

_WaffleLover: Any new dirt on anyone this week?_

_Peepz: Uh, lemme see. I might have something_

_hotnready: oowada surprised me as being the murderer he just never seemed like the type_

_Cupcake Emily: And Fukawa-san was the famed serial killer Genocide Jack...I feel bad for her too...._

_Cupcake Emily: Sorry for double-posting but I just found out Fujisaki-san is a man!? How did that happen!?_

_Akiko: chromosomes_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Geezh, you're always quite late to these things, aren't you?_

_Cupcake Emily: Our house just has satellite and it's rainy season here...cut me a break!_

_Akiko: like your connection_

_Peepz: Couldn't find very much this time around, however I did find out Hagakure-san isn't technically a student of the school, he just snuck in randomly to escape the police or something_

_hotnready: i mean...he's the oldest one there makes sense to me_

_WaffleLover: We know Celes-san is pregnant, so there's your pregnant girl for you Peepz_

_Peepz: Heck yeah, where's my money_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Hey, I have a wild theory. Hear me out here though....what if Fujisaki-san was actually a trans girl? Monokuma-san said she was 'forced to live as a girl' in that huge speech he did after the trial, and when she first joined the Killing School Life, she had a super girly outfit on._

_Akiko: uh no_

_WaffleLover: That's a bit disrespectful to assume, he was obviously a boy_

_Peepz: Er, weren't you just a few pages ago saying he was a boy? And you predicted it way before it was confirmed?_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Well yeah, but I'm trans myself, so I relate a lot to it_

_hotnready: doesn't make it true just because you relate to it_

_steponmeibukimioda: Guys, keep this on topic, otherwise a Mod will come in and yell at us_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Predictions?_

_Akiko: i wanna say celes-san but i have no clue_

_steponmeibukimioda: Maybe Fukawa-san? Since she's actually a famed serial killer, the others might get scared and try taking her out together or something_

_hotnready: i hope not even after all this i still love her_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I still want Asahina-chan to be pregnant...her and Naegi-san would be great parents_

_WaffleLover: Who do you guys think the father of Celes-san's child is? Boy or girl?_

_Peepz: The father could be anyone left alive, honestly. I'm putting money on Togami-san(haha)_

_Cupcake Emily: OMG FUJISAKI-SAN DIED?! NO NOT HIM TOO!!! I loved his positive pansexual energy!_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: I want her to have a cute daughter, but she'd be a bad mother_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Yeah, Asahina-chan should take care of it!_

_Akiko: sorry hagakure but i think you might be next to die_

_WaffleLover: All sacrifices are necessary if it means Naegi-san gets to live!_

_Cupcake Emily: I don't know who to root for next...er...nobody else is LGBT!_

_steponmeibukimioda: They might be but they're probably someone you dislike_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I thought it was really sweet in episode seven when Oogami-san and Ishimaru-san took care of Fujisaki-san and Yamada-san when they got really sick. That was so nice of them_

_Peepz: I just wish we got to learn everyone's secrets, not just Oowada-san's. Didn't even get to learn Fujisaki-san's new one, that's a ripoff._

_WaffleLover: Maybe the next motive will be more interesting and we'll get to see more reactions to it_

_Akiko: maybe it'll involve kirigiri more i love her but she's mysterious. id love to see something related to her past as a motive_

_Peepz: I think that's what the last motive was, but since Oowada-san caved and murdered someone, we'll never know. A bit disappointing_

_WaffleLover: Come on ladies, we're experts at digging up dirt! That's why we're on this site! If anyone can dig up those remaining secrets, it's us!_

_Tsuniki:_ **Sayuri Suzumi, several users have reported you as being disrespectful on this thread. If you do not stop, you shall be banned for a time.**

_Sayuri Sazumi: OMG I didn't even do anything!? Why am I getting threatened with a ban_

_Akiko: probably for being disrespectful a few days ago by making up that rumor_

_Sayuri Sazumi: We're supposed to be petty and disrespectful on a gossip forum though_

_WaffleLover: Yeah, but Fujisaki-san really did not deserve that_

_hotnready: yeah girl save that for someone more cruel and abhorred_

_Peepz: Found this picture of Kirigiri-san. I can't tell how old she is in it but she's eating cottage cheese and dumplings  
47464746252.png _

_Cupcake Emily: Poor dear, she looks as though she lived such a bland life_

_steponmeibukimioda: So are they really just going to let Genocide Jack run around like that? She didn't go back 'in' after the trial_

_Akiko: theyll deal with it in some way im sure_

_Peepz: Seriously, this show keeps upping the drama every single time I tune in. I can't wait to see how the next arc will unfold and be even more exciting!_

_Tsuniki:_ **Since this topic has exceeded 1,000 posts, it will now be locked. Please continue discussing here!**


	15. Chapter 3: A Superhero Rises; Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celestia thinks more on her pregnancy as her due date draws closer and closer. Hifumi thinks more on recent events and starts trying to woo Celestia in the hopes she’ll fill the hole in his heart left by Chihiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is my favourite chapter in THH with Chapter 2 being just below it. That being said, I’m oh so very excited for all the twists and turns I have planned this time around...
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

Celestia kept herself awake that night, sitting at the end of her bed and humming a French lullaby to herself, cutting the string off a dress. She held it up to the light and smiled to herself, gently folding it up and placing it in a tiny box under her bed.

Inside the box were lacy lolita dresses in different shades of pastel; pink and purple and yellow and green and blue, complete with little accessories such as bows for hair. Little knitted booties to match the dresses were in there too.

She was secretly proud of her handiwork and was glad her room came with a sewing kit. She immediately went to work her first night there, making new outfits for herself. After a few more days, she began to secretly shrink the patterns in her mind and splash cute girly colours onto them.

“Excited, are you?” She placed a hand on her stomach when she felt her baby kick. Her child was always far more active at night than during the day. “I only hope you are a girl, and your father was one of noble repute. I hope he was a French noble befitting of my status, and we would have met at the ball and he would’ve found my wallflower and quiet nature appealing, like Prince Albert did for Queen Victoria or Tzar Nicholas did for Tzarina Alexandra,”

Celestia gently pushed the box underneath her bed again and looked at her desk where a list of baby names was placed on top. Her top pick was Annalise, but she was also fond of Genevieve, Henrietta, Elizabeth, Victoria, Maria-Theresa, Josephine, Tatiana, Fredericka, and Alexandra. Unlike the clothes, she didn’t much mind if someone happened upon the list, as she could lie and say that was for an entirely different, unrelated purpose. She couldn’t lie about the clothes though.

If Celestia was being honest with herself, and she very rarely was, she loathed being pregnant and still did. Babies ruined a woman’s body which was her greatest gift, so said Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary. Almost every queen and empress seemed to agree on that fact; they would have no children if they could help it. Queen Victoria thought babies were loud and disgusting and Celestia agreed with that sentiment.

However, those were Celestia’s thoughts.

Taeko still hated being pregnant, but for another reason. It reminded her of the bloody bed in the emergency room, garish and red and smelly, so distasteful that she had fainted upon seeing it, and her parents paid her not a care.

No, they were still crying over the fact her mother had miscarried and lost a pair of twins. Twins. _Twins!_

It was bad enough her mother had to get knocked up again when she couldn’t even afford one child, but to possibly have two more?!

Celestia dug her hands into the sides of her dress hard, feeling them stiffen the fabric.

Her mother was stupid, with her pregnancy and her shopping and how she’d only buy ramen and peanut-butter sandwiches and how she played the cello and thought she sounded good. Her father was stupid too, but at least he had the common sense to actually work for them. She admired him more for that.

“Don’t think about the blood...don’t think about the blood...!” Celestia reminded herself, suddenly being plagued with that image again. She was terrified of miscarrying and did everything in her power to remain still in bed so her baby wouldn’t be jostled. She was too far along to have one, but a stillbirth might have blood. And the actual birth would have blood....

She put a hand on her stomach, feeling anxious and queasy. She then glanced up at the camera.

“When it is time...you’ll know what to do with my child, I trust?”

She couldn’t put faith in that.

She couldn’t give birth here, this was no place to raise a child!

She needed to find a way out.

She needed to find a way out.

Or her name isn’t Celestia Ludenberg.

^*^

Breakfast was a dull affair. Hifumi mainly kept to himself, not really wishing to stare at anyone. Touko and Byakuya were still absent, and according to Sakura, Aoi wasn't feeling well and chose to stay in her room.

"What a pity...she was always the most cheerful of us all," Celestia scoffed, twirling her hair around on her finger.

Hifumi had to agree with that. Not even Celestia could cheer him up that morning, even though she looked as beautiful as she ever did. She had a costume change and that meant she was due for some major character development!

"There's such a depressing tone around the table today," Yasuhiro sighed.

"It's because we've finally accepted the hopelessness of our current situation..." Hifumi hung his head. Not only would they never escape, but he also had to learn that his precious, darling Madame Fujisaki wasn't a reverse-trap at all but....an actual trap! How was he supposed to react to that properly?!

Why was _that_ the only thing on his mind!?

"We just have to learn to adapt. I have said it before and I will say it again. We just have to adapt," Celestia placed both of her hands on her stomach as she spoke. "Forget about the old world and just learn to live here,"

"I don't think I could live my whole life here..." Makoto pouted.

"Oh? But here, we have endless food and clothing, everything we could ever want. Do you know what the real world has? Crime, corruption, discrimination, sacrifice...why would you ever want to go back to that?"

She may have had a point, but...

"There's no anime here! No comics, no games! What else am I supposed to do with my time?!" He suddenly blurted out. Chihiro managed to sedate him, but he was gone. He still had his anime figurines and posters, but even those too could only do so much. He needed to catch up on his shows!

"See? It is because of people like you that the Mastermind has so much control over us," Celestia scoffed. "You refuse to let go of your worldly desires,"

He would never let go of them for as long as he lived!

"Since Ishmaru-chi isn't in a healthy state of mind...I'll be taking control as the oldest of us! So let's look around the school! Since we survived another trial, there should be a new floor open to us!" Yasuhiro announced eagerly.

"Indeed. I wonder what we will find this time?"

Before they could properly start gathering themselves up, however, Genocide Jack suddenly ran into the room, brandishing her scissors.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous night's sleep! I heard you wanted me, so here I am!" She smirked.

"Nobody called you!" Hifumi cried, shivering. Who was letting a deranged serial killer who only went after men run free?!

"What is she still doing out?" Makoto gasped.

 _I was wondering the same thing! Put her back in!_  
Hifumi thought.

"Running around a place like this is so much fun! Besides, people like me are badly stereotyped! I'm here to break those stereotypes! All thanks to terrible pulp fiction novels and penny-dreadfuls, if you wanna go way far back!" Genocide Jack accused.

"You're not really helping to disprove those theories though," Yasuhiro sighed.

“If she wasn’t around, our survival rates would increase to about ten percent,” Hifumi announced, sighing. He suddenly felt exhausted and nothing had even happened yet. Well, he had to make Celestia’s tea for her again, but he was slowly starting to grow accustomed to it.

A girl, an actual girl, a real-life girl, was entrusting him with something so important for her, and what kind of a protagonist would he be if he didn’t oblige her? Maybe soon, she’ll start to realize the man she was looking for was right in front of her the whole entire time!

“Yamada-kun,” Her sweet voice spoke up, halting him as the remainder of the class filed out to go explore the new floor.

“Yes..?” He asked slowly, unsure of what to expect this time.

“You have done quite a delectable job with my tea these past few days. Thanks are in order,” She smiled.

“I-I’m glad you appreciate my efforts, Mistress Celestia! Only the very best for you!” The overly-archaic and submissive honorific slipped from his lips before he had a chance to stop it. Did he want to stop it though? As he thought about it, he realized Celestia was a lot like Madame Fujisaki in many ways-well, he can’t call him ‘Madame’ anymore, but he could certainly call Celestia ‘Mistress’! Both were leagues above their classmates in grace and style and charm. Celestia was the supposedly unattainable ojou-sama, and Chihiro was the imuto-trap disguised as the perfect woman in his eyes. An otokonoko! In real life!

“Yamada-kun, did you hear what I said?” Her eyes stared at him, making him jump. No, he hadn’t heard what she said at all! Did he dare ask her to repeat it?

“You wanted more breakfast?” He tried meekly, sighing in relief when she nodded.

“Have you ever had milk soup? It is a bit of a childish dish, I must admit, but lately I have been having the fondest yet strangest desires for it. I must have some made at once,” She sighed dramatically, her hands clasped at her chest.

“I’ve...never heard of such a thing,” He admitted. At least milk tea was self-explanatory, even if he did get it wrong the first time! Tea with milk in it. But milk soup was...tomato soup with milk poured into it?

”That does not surprise me one bit. It was often given exclusively to the children of rich nobles in their nursery, especially as a comfort food when one was ill,” She briefly glanced over. “One only needs milk, sugar, and cinnamon.”

It sounded a bit like oatmeal.

Instantly, Hifumi jumped up, eager to be of service again. “I will make it for you in just a few minutes, Mistress! By that I mean...it’ll be ready in a few minutes!” He dashed into the kitchen, hearing her soft giggle.

“Thank you, Yamada-kun. I appreciate your haste,”

Once he finished making the milk soup, he poured it gently into a china bowl patterned with a small ring of violets and placed it on a saucer with a tiny spoon beside it, holding it out to her. “How does this look, Mistress Celestia?”

She gasped, putting a hand daintily over her mouth. “My, the presentation alone is quite nice...I only can hope that means the dish itself is satisfactory,” She picked up the spoon and gently dipped it into the food, watching it part. She then slowly lifted it to her mouth and sipped, keeping her eyes closed for a maddening amount of time. The clock quietly ticked overhead.

“Well....?” Hifumi couldn’t resist the urge anymore to ask. She dipped the spoon back into the bowl and smiled sweetly.

“It tastes just as my darling nounou always made for me when I was lying sick in bed,” She explained. “A nanny, Father hired her to care for me,”

”I see,” Hifumi gasped. “Wait, a nanny?! So did you also have a butler too?!” If she did...she’d be a real certified ojou-sama!

Celestia nodded. “Oui, I did indeed. Mother hired him for me and thus I was instructed to refer to him as ‘Vati’. It made entertaining guests at parties quite odd as a result,” She giggled.

“You’re a real ojou-sama then!” Hifumi gasped before he realized it. Would Celestia be offended? Actually, why would she be? How _could_ she be? When she changed her outfit, it still had the lovely gothic flair.

She frowned, staring at him. “Please do not use your disgusting otaku terms to refer to me, please. I am nothing of the sort. I am one of the last shreds of European nobility, almost a real princess,” She sighed and stood up slowly, a hand on her stomach. “We have been away from the others long enough. We should go upstairs and see what they discovered,”

”Yes...” Hifumi awkwardly trailed behind her, honoring her request to stay silent. It seemed that even for the time being, she would remain silent. Hifumi would respect that. Not everything needed to be filled with excessive talking, even though the mildew-y air and maddening silence often demanded otherwise. But if you talked too much then, you heard your own voice echo and bounce off the empty metal walls after a while, and that'd send a shiver down anyone's spine.

"A rec room!" She gasped, wandering ahead of him suddenly. "Oh, I have ached for this to be unlocked...ever since I woke up in it,"

"I'd expect a gambler as well-known and beautiful as yourself would want a room where they could play cards and stuff like that,” Gamblers played cards, right? Or those slot machines? Everything he knew about them came from his various anime, like that one about a girl with features suspiciously similar to Celestia’s own.

“Indeed. If you do not mind, I will be exploring this area on my own,” She gave him a sweet smile and Hifumi nodded, suppressing the urge to randomly shriek. She was being so nice to him, there was no need to overreact...

After she vanished into the rec room, Hifumi walked straight ahead and widened his eyes at the sight of ornate columns marking a large doorless entryway. His curiosity immediately piqued, he charged inside to the best of his advantage, panting once he entered.

An art room! A real, honest-to-goodness art room! Unfinished paintings and sketches lay around on the desks and easels. He took a great whiff and inhaled the mixed scents of old paint, clay, pencils, ink, heavy paper, and dust.

It was a scent that took one forever to get used to, but Hifumi found he was always comforted when he smelled it. Now whenever he felt stressed-out, he’d have a place to go to relax and unwind.

“This room is huge!” Makoto gasped in amazement as he walked inside. Hifumi smirked.

“Of course it is! One doesn’t just make a tiny art-room. It must encompass everything that is large and great about art! One of these days, I’ll have my own room that looks like this. I will be considered one of the greatest artists of this generation, sitting with the top elite three!” He boasted, not noticing Makoto’s awkward expression.

“I have other areas of the school to check out,” He finally said, walking away from Hifumi.

He found himself wondering if Celestia would like such a place. The artwork on display was quite intricate and classy, perfect for her tastes. He also saw some religious oil paintings near the front alongside an unfinished window of stained glass. Chihiro would’ve liked those.

Suddenly feeling a tad depressed, Hifumi decided to head back down to the cafeteria, looking up in surprise when he spotted Aoi there, pacing back and forth with her hands in her jacket pockets.

“Asahina-chan! Is thee feeling better?” Sakura asked instantly, being the first one over there.

“Yeah...my stomach hurt and I felt nauseous, but then I ate some doughnuts and I felt better!” Aoi giggled a bit.

“Hm? But if your stomach hurt, why would you indulge in such a thing?” Celestia questioned, her eyes slightly widened.

“Maybe she just really likes doughnuts,” Makoto offered.

”The stomachache made me crave food,” She said.

“You’re a lot like a goldfish! They always eat regardless of their physical state. Almost reminds me of someone...” Hifumi couldn’t help cutting in himself, finding nothing wrong with it. After all, genki-types usually became well-known for having practically bottomless stomachs.

“You’re the last person I wanna hear that from!” She snapped.

“Looks like everybody’s here now! Wanna lead the meeting again, Ishimaru-chi?” Yasuhiro asked breezily, glancing over at Kiyotaka, who was staring ahead at nothing idly. Yasuhiro stood up. “Guess it’ll be me again. Report, everyone!”

“There’s a huge art-room here full of supplies! I can finally go back to drawing anime again!” Hifumi suddenly gushed, unable to contain it any longer. Finally, he could give Celestia a token worthy of her affection and proof of his love.

“Oh! Speaking of which, I found this camera upstairs,” Makoto held out a sparkly pink camera coated in glitter. Something about it seemed familiar...

”Let me see that!” Yasuhiro held the camera in his hands lightly, looking it over. “What the heck, it doesn’t have a timer and can only hold five shots! It’s definitely a lame disposable one,” He sighed.

“It has a cartoon character on it,” Celestia noticed with slight distaste.

“That is no mere cartoon character!” He swiped the camera away from Yasuhiro. “She’s Princess Buuko from one of the greatest anime of all time!”

“Why do you know so much about her?” Aoi blinked.

“Because! This camera was given as a reward to the victor of the art contest to celebrate the anime’s anniversary...! I managed to give up almost all of my life savings to convince the original owner to give it up to me...because it’s mine!” Hifumi finished, looking down at it.

_“Take a picture of me! Can you?” Blue spun around him and giggled._

_“It would be my greatest honour to take a picture of the prettiest girl in class!”_

He blinked. Where did _that_ image come from?

“I should have known someone like you would own something as garish as that,” Celestia sighed boredly.

For once he chose to ignore her and held it close to his body. “It’s my most precious treasure, hence why I brought it here, but it vanished along with my cell phone! Where did you find it?!”

“Uh, the physics lab upstairs,” Makoto held his hands out.

Hifumi looked at it closer and found a thick lining of dust on the edges and top, frowning. “How did it get so dirty? It’s like it hasn’t been used in ages!” The dust probably ruined the film in it anyway. “It’s no longer pure! Thus, I have no use for it!”

Makoto pouted. “It seemed really important to you...”

”Allow me to hold onto it then. You never know when a camera might come in handy. If we all survive we might want to commemorate it or something,” Celestia smiled sweetly and held out her hand for the camera, and Hifumi slowly gave it to her.

“I feel like a camera won’t have much use in a place like this,” Aoi said.

”Speak for yourself,” Her eyes glittered dangerously.

“I checked the windows upstairs and they were all boarded-up and shut as well. I could not get them open,” Sakura began.

“That sucks. I really miss seeing the blue sky and sunshine,” Yasuhiro sighed.

”Just adapt. The sun is hardly useful anyway, and is going to explode in several million years,” Celestia tittered.

“I’m not a vampire like you though, I need my sun!”

"In the physics lab, there's a huge and elaborate air purifier..." Kyoko said, looking away.

"Why do we have that?!" Yasuhiro asked in surprise.

Yeah, and if they _did_ have one, why was the air often still so stale and badly-ventilated?

"I know I didn't really help in the investigation, but...I went out exploring anyway to try and make myself feel better and I made an interesting discovery! Remember the infirmary on the third floor?" Aoi began, looking slightly excited.

"As I recall, it was locked," Sakura said.

"Well, it's open now!"

"Any protein? Even supplements would be alright,"

"No...mainly just headache stuff and other over-the-counter things. Lots of nausea pills though, as well as morning sickness stuff..." She trailed off slightly.

"That's disappointing," Sakura looked away.

"I think finally having access to medicine would be a good thing for us though. Remember how Fujisaki-kun and Yamada-kun both got sick?" Celestia put a hand on her stomach and smiled.

That wasn't much fun at all...at least he wouldn't have to worry about such a thing ever again! After all, someone like him shouldn't ever be fellen by illness!

"Uh, I saw Togami-chi earlier. He was reading in the changing room-" Yasuhiro was cut off by Genocide Jack pointing at him.

"In the changing room, you say?! Perfect! I'll go steal Cheerio's E-Handbook to get in there!" She gasped, darting off.

"Should we just let her run off...?" Makoto asked worriedly, but Celestia tittered.

"Better for us that she's gone," She adjusted her skirt slightly, smoothing it out. "Anyway, I found we have a recreational room upstairs, which is quite nice. I am sure it will give our lives some much-needed enrichment. I for one would love to play someone in a game of Othello,"

"I would be honored to take you up on that offer, Mistress Celestia!" Hifumi announced. Sure, he hadn't really ever played it before in his life, but how hard could it possibly be? It was like chess, right? Besides, if Celestia was besting him in anything, it'd be worth it to see the deliciously delightful proud smirk on her face afterwards.

"If you insist," She tilted her head.

"I-I have something to say too!" Makoto went last. "In the storage room for the art room, I found a really weird picture...Monokuma took it from me before I could really do much with it...and strangest of all, it's the second picture like it I've found,"

"A strange picture?" Kyoko asked curiously.

"Yeah...the first one I found was of Maizono-san and Kuwata-kun, while this one also had Kuwata-kun in it alongside Oowada-kun and Fujisaki-kun,"

"But they never mentioned knowing each other before school, correct?" Celestia played with her hair.

"They were in a classroom, with no plates over the window," Makoto continued.

Obviously, this was a case of mistaken identity! He was being brainwashed by Monokuma! "It's all an illusion!"

"I'm not sure..." Makoto sighed. "They all seemed to know each other, and there are classrooms here..."

"Maybe it was taken on the outside after they escaped! They're all alive somewhere!" Yasuhiro shouted.

"I don't think so. We saw Kuwata-san and Oowada-san get executed with our own eyes. Maizono-san and Fujisaki-san's murdered bodies. And Enoshima-san too," Kyoko crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"So where was the picture taken then?"

"Simple. It is fake. Monokuma-san fabricated both of them as some sort of prank," Celestia sighed. "We should not worry so much over them,"

"Anything else?" Kyoko asked, and Celestia tittered a bit.

"Yes, I have something else I would like to say about Asahina-san," She smiled, making Aoi jump.

"H-Huh?! Me?" She pointed to herself in disbelief.

"Yes, you. I believe earlier you mentioned your stomach hurt...but you were lying, were you not? You cannot hope to fool the Queen of Liars easily...I am amazing at telling when other people are lying. The tip of your nose turns red when you do," She looked away.

"It does?!" Aoi cried out before tapping it. Celestia smiled.

"No, but you just confirmed for me you were lying."

"B-But...hey, that's not fair!"

Why would Aoi be so concerned over a simple lie? Could it be she was secretly...plotting something?!

"Tell me the truth. Did thou truly have a stomachache?" Sakura asked gently, and Aoi shook her head.

"No...I lied because I got freaked-out over something. But I didn't think anyone would believe me...I think I might've seen..a ghost,"

"Like a spirit?!" Hifumi exclaimed. Someone should call the ghost squad or a grim reaper to deal with that.

"A real ghost?" Kyoko asked in surprise, making Aoi pout.

"See? Nobody believes me,"

"I believe thee. Even if nobody else does. Tell me more." Sakura reassured her, and Aoi sighed.

"Alright...last night, I had trouble sleeping over...what happened. So I thought getting myself some sweets would help. I left my room..."

"And broke the nighttime rule," Celestia sighed dramatically. Aoi pouted further.

"I learned my lesson...because I heard strange noises coming from the bathhouse. I peeked inside and nearly died from shock! I saw Fujisaki-kun in there!" She said. "His ghost, all glowy and greenish and white,"

Hifumi shrieked. "A-A real ghost is on the loose!" And not only that, but it was Chihiro's ghost! What if he felt vengeful over them treating him so poorly? What if he was upset at society in general? They needed an exorcist! Wait, wasn't Chihiro some sort of Christian? Did exorcists even work on Christian spirits? Did Christians even come back as spirits?!

"There is no such things at ghosts," Celestia sighed boredly, looking away. "You were just under a lot of stress and therefore thought you saw something you did not,"

"Then we should all go see what she saw and confirm it for ourselves," Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Just for proof,"

"You may, but I will not. It is pointless," Celestia put a hand on her stomach.

"Come on, please come with us? There's no harm in it," Makoto tried to offer her a non-threatening smile. "If nothing comes of it, then nothing comes of it,"

"But won't we get cursed if we spot a ghost?!" Yasuhiro cried, making Aoi glare at him.

"You can stay here then!"

"I suppose I have no choice," Celestia sighed.

"What about Lord Ishimaru...?" Hifumi looked over at the tall man seated beside him, staring up idly at the ceiling again. While Kiyotaka had never been one of Hifumi's favourite classmates, he did admire how he was willing to put his own health on the line to help him recover. Seeing the normally energetic and almost proud honor student reduced to such a state was...weirdly chilling, at least to Hifumi. “I guess he’s staying,” He had meant it as a joke, but even to him his tone sounded strained.

“Let’s go,” Makoto said, and everyone followed him out of the cafeteria.


	16. Chapter 3: A Superhero Rises; Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining students learn of Alter-Ego’s presence in a hidden location and Kyoko warns everyone to not mess with it. To keep Monokuma off their tracks, Aoi suggests that the girls take a bath. Celestia feels her carefully-crafted facade starting to crack more and more and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

“This was where I saw the ghost,” Aoi said, pointing to a general direction near the lockers. “Fujisaki-kun’s ghost,”

“Yo, I hear something buzzing...!” Yasuhiro panicked.

“It sounds like...eko eko eko eko eko,” Hifumi teased, making Yasuhiro freak out more.

“Stop it, dude! You might actually summon something!”

Aoi glared in annoyance at Yasuhiro while Kyoko strode over to the locker and opened it up more. Sheesh, nobody even asked Yasuhiro to come, nor did they want him to. If he was freaked-out so badly he could’ve just gone and stayed in his room!

“It’s a laptop. The one we found in the library,” Kyoko addressed Makoto. “It’s in a powered-down state but we can still turn it on,”

”Huh? But wasn’t it broken when we first found it?" Makoto asked in confusion.

"Maybe Fujisaki-san fixed it since he was the Ultimate Programmer. I'm sure something like that would be quite easy for him," Sakura suggested.

"Asahina-san," Celestia spoke up, playing with her hair. Aoi blushed and glanced over at her. "Please do not tell me you mistook the computer's screen for a ghost."

Aoi blushed even more, remaining silent. Well maybe she did, but there wasn't anything wrong with that! Plenty of people hallucinated when they were upset!

"I see that your eyes are merely decorations,"

That was completely uncalled for!

"I must say, if I were into clumsy genki girls, I'd be absolutely smitten with you! But alas, my tastes are far more esteemed and cultured," Hifumi boasted.

"As if I'd let you get with me!" Aoi huffed in annoyance.

"I fail to see how cultured chasing after a sausage is, but I suppose we all discover things about ourselves at different parts of our lives," Celestia placed her hands on her stomach.

"And what are you trying to imply, Mistress Celestia?! My love for girls is pure and innocent!"

"I'm sorry that I didn't expect a computer to be in a locker!" Aoi snapped, getting annoyed with their one-sided back-and-forths. "It's not a normal place to keep one! Nobody in their right minds would think it was!"

"It's common to mistake stuff like that sometimes. Like those people who mistake tadpoles for Grey Goo or aliens," Yasuhiro chuckled. Aoi crossed her arms under her chest and stared at him.

"I said people in their _right_ mind!"

"I was just trying to help you!"

"I think you've helped me out plenty!" She started to yell more, only to suddenly bite down on her lip as a sudden headache washed over her.

She hadn't been yelling that much...what gave?

"I agree. It's a weird place to stick a laptop in. Maybe it's being hidden. Not from us, but from..." Kyoko paused and gestured up to the ceiling. Makoto gasped.

"No security cameras!"

"Indeed." Kyoko stepped over to the laptop and turned it on easily, watching it douse her in a bluish light. Just like what she saw last night...except Chihiro's face was there too, glowing. Aoi continued to watch as Kyoko pressed on one of the icons labeled simply as 'Alter-Ego'.

"In the entertainment industry, it is similar to a pen name or an alias. A fake name and sometimes persona one takes on for many reasons," Celestia sighed a bit.

Kyoko waited a few seconds before the screen turned green, revealing a digital version of Chihiro's face, looking overjoyed.

"Master! You've returned for me! I am so very happy!"

"What is it?" Makoto asked.

"I'm sure we'll find out if we talk to it more," Kyoko said, looking the computer over. She then typed something in that Aoi was too far to see.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I am Fujisaki Chihiro, pleased to meet you. I hope you will take good care of me," The virtual avatar continued, suddenly looking more nervous. Aoi could see then there were slight differences in the avatar and how Chihiro really looked; the braces and Rosary were still the same, but this avatar was dressed in a plain white dress shirt with a black tie.

Celestia covered her mouth with her fist, an unreadable expression in her eyes.

"It's just like him..." Makoto gasped.

"I've heard of programs like this. I believe they're file decoders," Kyoko continued. "However, they can be taught to do pretty much anything on a computer. They learn notoriously fast. This is what Fujisaki-san was working on...makes sense for an Ultimate Programmer,"

"So the name Alter-Ego was quite intentional," Celestia was staring intently at the computer then, and Aoi thought she saw something flicker through the girl's eyes. Regret? Recognition? She had no idea. Aoi wasn't ever the best with reading people's emotions through their eyes. "Anyway, this is what he was creating on that old laptop of his. I should have known..."

"And she's adorable and even greets you formally with a 'Master' at the door!" Hifumi gushed. "She's like Madame Fujisaki but as a real anime girl!"

"This thing is a machine...and a guy anyway," Yasuhiro said.

"That doesn't matter! She's 2D to me and that's what matters!"

Kyoko ignored the two and started typing more things in. Aoi tried to lean in close to look, biting her lip as a sudden wave of dizziness came over her. She quickly stood up straight and subtly clutched at her stomach.

"Master...wasn't very clear about a lot of things. I suppose it was the situation he was currently in..." Alter-Ego speculated. "As for what he planned to do with me...there are a bunch of files on this computer that he wanted decrypted but couldn't...so he made me to do it. He thought if they were this well-hidden and locked...there must be something important on them. Like the secrets about the school,"

Kyoko remained calm and continued typing away.

"It'll take a little while longer...but I can get it done, no problems!" Alter-Ego reassured everyone.

"He must've known it'd take a while," Kyoko mused to herself. "That's why he wanted to work on Alter-Ego in his spare time..."

"Ah, what a wonderful idea. That way he could continue his work even after death," Celestia gasped.

Kyoko typed something else and Aoi leaned in again to look, this time seeing: **Please continue doing your work, we won't rush you. And make sure you're careful to not get spotted.**

"Don't worry! I have a backup plan. I can see everything out there through my webcam. If I spot anyone suspicious-looking, I'll just scream out for help!" Alter-Ego giggled.

"That's a fairly primitive backup plan..." Makoto sighed.

"While that may work during the day, I am far more concerned about nighttime. Our rooms are soundproof, so if it does yell, we won't be able to hear it," Celestia reminded everyone.

"We could stand guard here all night in shifts?"

"No, the Mastermind would notice us coming in and out of this room," Kyoko shook her head. "I'll leave my door open at night. If it screams, I'll hear it,"

"But if you leave your door open..." Yasuhiro trailed off. Kyoko stared at him.

"Yes, there's a possibility I could be killed. But could any of you really kill me?" She started to stare everyone else down. "I will not die here, that's certain,"

Aoi blinked. She thought Kyoko was a bit like Byakuya in that moment, except Kyoko radiated the confidence Byakuya just thought he had. At that moment, Aoi knew Kyoko was serious about both her intent and her words.

Every single one of them standing there could die in this twisted game, but Kyoko wouldn't. Somehow, she would preserve. Somehow, she would survive.

Speaking of which...

"I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions myself...where is Master? He hasn't come to see me in a while," Alter-Ego asked curiously, glancing around at each of their faces.

 **Fujisaki-san was murdered by Oowada-san.** Kyoko typed in easily.

"I figured...I knew Master would have a low chance of surviving in a place like this..." Alter-Ego cried. "I just wished....I hoped...that maybe...I was wrong...."

"I feel so sorry for her," Hifumi sighed. Aoi nodded in agreement.

"It must feel terrible to lose your other half," She suddenly remembered the video she saw two weeks ago of Yuta locked up in prison and bit her lip so she wouldn't cry. Learning what came of its creator...must've felt very much the same. She did indeed feel very sorry for the program.

"Whatever for? It is just a machine with no emotions or thoughts. All it knows is what it's told. It cannot feel anything," Celestia tittered.

"Are you sure about that?" Hifumi asked her softly, but she just smiled sweetly.

"That's enough for today. If we stay here any longer, the Mastermind might grow suspicious," Kyoko stated and quickly typed a short message to Alter-Ego before stepping away from the locker.

"Maybe we could hook this laptop up to the network and ask the outside world for help!" Yasuhiro suggested, making everyone look at him.

"But this is a dressing room...there's no network here," Aoi reminded him in confusion. She put a hand on her stomach.

"Then we take it outta here to someplace that does have a network!"

"No way! That's too dangerous, the Mastermind will find out!" Hifumi shrieked.

"Yeah..I suppose you're right..."

"Rather than recklessly endangering its life...we should just let Alter-Ego continue to run its analysis," Kyoko frowned, gently closing the locker door. "It may take a while though, so we all must be patient,"

"Indeed. It is the only thing all of us can do now," Sakura nodded in agreement.

"I'll come back for you later, my sweetheart...later, I promise!" Hifumi drooled in the direction of the locker, just standing there. Aoi paused in her own steps and sighed.

"Come on, come on, you too Yamada-san!" She gently tugged on his arm and he snapped out of it.

"Right, coming!"

Despite the...implications of Celestia and Hifumi, the rest of the class reacted rather well to finding the laptop. It wasn't a ghost at all she had seen, it was something that could help them out! And she had been the one who found it! Her! She suddenly ran ahead of the others, feeling like jumping for joy.

"Woohoo! I feel like some kind of hero!" She cheered, jumping a bit and bumping her fists in the air.

"I haven't checked in with you guys in quite a while, right? What's going on?" Monokuma's voice reached them from the speaker system, making everyone freeze. Aoi herself suddenly felt chilled and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"None of your business!" Hifumi huffed. "We don't have to tell you anything!"

"But I am your Headmaster, and keeping secrets is strictly forbidden. After all, what if you were keeping a secret from me that could endanger me? Or the lives of your fellow classmates?" Monokuma continued. "That wouldn't be very fair at all, now would it?"

Everyone looked at each other nervously. Aoi bunched her hands into fists in her pocket and bit her lip, trying to think of a convincing lie.

The reason why they were in the changing room's bathhouse was...because...

"W-We wanted to take a bath!" She yelled suddenly, making everyone stare at her instead. "Yeah! But since there's only one, us girls decided to play Rock-Paper-Scissors to figure out who'd get it first! And I won for us because I'm athletic and stuff.."

Celestia nodded. "Indeed, that is what happened."

"So you boys need to scram! We're going to take a nice long one too!" Aoi continued, waving the boys away. She could feel herself starting to sweat and wondered if Monokuma could see through her bluff. She couldn't see him, but he could see them at all times, right?

"A long bath? But that means you'll use up all the hot water!" Hifumi gasped.

"Oh well...guess we'll just have to try harder tomorrow morning," Yasuhiro chuckled. "Come on, let's head back to the cafeteria,"

The three left them alone, and Aoi started to follow after the girls when she spotted Celestia walking off in another direction towards their dorms. She tilted her head.

"Huh? Celes-san? Don't you want to take a bath with us?" She asked curiously. Celestia seemed like the sort of girl who'd love to take a bath to relax and feel pretty and would never say no to one!

"No thank you. I suddenly feel quite tired," She sighed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I shall decline,"

"But you were the one who seemed the most excited about it in there!" She coaxed, subtly glancing up at the camera.

"I changed my mind. Am I not allowed to do that?" She stared intensely.

"Celes-san.." Aoi reached out for her hands, only to have them pushed away. Celestia's heels clacked on the hard floor.

"Enjoy your bath without me. You won, after all, you all deserve it," She smiled sweetly and walked away, her heels echoing even after she was long gone. Aoi pouted.

"What gives? She seems like someone who'd love to relax and unwind after a long day in a hot bath..."

"Just ignore her." Kyoko walked ahead of her and Sakura into the changing room. "Just means more room for us,"

Aoi looked after Celestia one last time before pouting further and following Sakura and Kyoko into the changing room. Kyoko was right; it was Celestia's loss if she didn't want to join them. And what was with her stance on so much isolation anyway? She'd need a friend to get her through a circumstance like this. And besides, Kyoko was also right with her second point. If it was just her, Kyoko, and Sakura, that meant tons of room in the bath!

She smiled a bit as she started to pull her hair down.

_Good on you, Aoi, for always looking on the bright side of things! It's what you're the best at after all!_

^*^

Sakura sat on one of the benches in the changing room as she watched Kyoko and Aoi eagerly undress themselves, seemingly excited over using the bath. She smiled at their excitement. It really warmed her spirit to know that even despite everything that had happened thus far, everyone could still take the time to enjoy simple pleasures such as a warm bath. Kyoko finished undressing first and pulled her hair up into a long ponytail, wrapping a towel around her body and announcing she'd get the water started. Aoi nodded and continued undressing herself. Sakura stood and began to undress herself as well.

Kyoko's appearance didn't get past Sakura; for even though she was completely nude, she still wore her leather gloves. Sakura wondered what was wrong with Kyoko's hands to the point she had to hide them away from the world at all times. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but she still couldn't help thinking it.

There were always many things on her mind at all times.

She finished undressing herself and took her hair down out of its ponytail, letting it flow freely down her back. She wrapped a towel around her body and entered the steamy room, finding Kyoko in the middle of turning the tap off. The water was still hot.

Sakura sat down on one of the stools next to Aoi and began to wash her hair, the top of her towel falling down slightly and exposing her breasts to the cold air.

"Your breasts are amazing! They're so cute!" Aoi gasped, glancing over at her in amazement. Sakura ran her hand through her hair, trying to scrub it.

Like the other times Sakura was left to her own devices, she found herself thinking about the previous trial. She felt terribly sorry for Mondo and found she had liked him even despite everything. He didn't have as many faults as Leon had, but that mattered little. In the end they were both just as much victims as the people they killed. Mondo was a product of society.

And Chihiro. Chihiro was the sweetest, kindest, and gentlest of them all. If there was anyone who truly didn't deserve their fate, it was him. If only Sakura had known what would've happened, she would've pushed harder for him to train with her. She had already suggested it once when he said he wished to get stronger, but he brushed her off. At the time Sakura had thought nothing of it, but now...

They would've figured something out. Maybe they could've moved equipment into the gym for them to use...or something. Something. Just something.

He didn't have to die, there was always some other way.

But he was dead.

Sakura finished washing herself off and gently lowered herself into the tub. Aoi and Kyoko were already sitting across from her, next to each other, Aoi eagerly talking her arm off about something. When she caught Sakura's expression, however, she paused and pouted a bit.

"Is something wrong?"

Did she confess, or not? She didn't want to worry Aoi with something she had no control over, yet simultaneously didn't want to lie and risk Aoi getting even more worried over the lie. Sakura finally sighed.

"I just have a lot on my mind tonight. Such as Fujisaki-san. He was a truly kind soul and the thought that his life was snuffed out just like that...does not sit well with me. I do not blame Oowada-san, rather I blame the demented situation we are all in. Still, I feel as though I could have done more for him," She spilled.

Aoi frowned. "I'm thinking about him too...his last memories of me were of something bad I said and making him cry. I didn't mean it...I wish I could've apologized to him..."

"I'm sure he's already forgiven you. The inability to hold a grudge was both a strength and a weakness for him," Kyoko added in.

"I am sorry for concerning you two about this. I just couldn't help but to share what was on my mind," Sakura apologized, making Aoi gasp.

"No, don't feel bad! I'm glad you felt comfortable enough with us to tell us what's wrong! We would've done the same," She reassured her.

Sakura felt a small smile form on her face. "I thank thee then,"

The three sat and relaxed in the bath for a while longer before deciding they were done and getting out, redressing themselves and adjusting their hair and clothes before heading back to the cafeteria.

As expected, the three boys were still sitting at the main table, making small talk, and Celestia was sitting by herself at a smaller table, trying to nibble on some celery sticks.

"That was really refreshing!" Aoi smiled, stretching a bit. "Nothing like a nice bath before bed! It really loosens up your muscles and relaxes you!"

"I agree. It was nice to relax in a long bath after not having one for a while," Kyoko smiled as well, eyeing Celestia as she spoke. Celestia pushed her plate away and glanced away.

"I can just take a bath tomorrow then. It is nice to know there'll always be one waiting for me, right?" She smiled sweetly.

Sakura smiled in agreement with the other girls. "Normally I'd be craving a protein coffee after my bath, but...I suppose this is fine as well,"

The bell that signaled the start of nighttime chimed, so everyone gathered themselves up and left the cafeteria, heading for their rooms. Sakura found herself feeling anxious for once over what the next day would bring. Anxiety was not a foreign feeling to her, just an unfamiliar one.

Why did she suddenly feel as though their situation would get much worse before it got better?

^*^

Aoi tossed and turned in her bed that night, finding her mind unable to concentrate on anything else except those watery celery sticks Celestia was eating earlier. Green and cool and crunchy with the faint aftertaste of water...Aoi wanted to eat that, only that, right then!

But she also promised she'd follow the nighttime rule. If anyone caught her out...

But the celery...

Aoi pouted and sat up in bed, finally making a choice. She left her jacket off, slipping on her red tank top and tight pink skort before also sliding on her sneakers and sneaking out of her room, leaving her hair down.

Just some celery sticks and then she'd head right back to bed. Celery with...oh! Peanut butter! And raisins! And while she was at it, why not make a huge salad? Celery and apple and orange and lemon and grapes...all with peanut butter and raisins on top! It was perfect, it sounded delicious!

She remained light on her feet as she walked to the cafeteria, tilting her head. If her memory served her right, nobody could even get into the cafeteria during nighttime, yet, tonight...it was wide open. She suppressed a shiver and nearly turned right back around for bed before she heard her stomach growl.

"Just get the food and leave," She whispered to herself, feeling her heart hammer in her chest.

Aoi tiptoed lightly, sneaking into the dark cafeteria. She squinted to make out the dark shapes of the tables and chairs in the blackness and kept to the center of the room, slipping into the kitchen. In the sink she found a small saucer with traces of butter and ramen on it. She tilted her head before starting to make her own food.

A celery-fruit-peanut-butter-raisin salad! Just what the doctor ordered!

Aoi spread the peanut butter on the fruit and sprinkled the raisins on top, picking the bowl up and turning around, shivering as she felt the eyes of someone being on her.

"H-Hello..?" She called out nervously. "Who's there?"

There was no answer, and Aoi wasn't sure which fact scared her more, that one, or the fact that someone could've answered.

She held the bowl close to her body and quickly but silently hoofed it back to her dorm.

^*^

That next morning at breakfast, it was just the seven of them again. Celestia found herself quite pleased with that, less people to try and disturb her.

"Looks like even Ishimaru-chi has given up on attending," Yasuhiro noticed with a sigh.

She tittered in response. "How funny it is, he was the most energetic and determined of us, yet at the slightest inconvenience he fell and he fell hard,"

"I hope he'll be alright..." Makoto said.

"Alter-Ego is alright," Kyoko relayed at a whisper.

Celestia folded her hands in front of herself and mainly picked at her breakfast, not feeling hungry that morning for once. She subtly rubbed her ankles under the table and pressed a hand to her back.

Aoi was right the previous day, Celestia loved relaxing in baths and would normally be all for it. With the other girls though...not a chance. Her bump was small but still very noticeable. She wasn't about to risk getting spotted and dealing with a bombardment of questions from the other girls.

Her back and feet were killing her though! What she wouldn't give for just a few minutes of a hot soak....

After breakfast, Celestia walked off in a random direction and roamed the halls for a few minutes before she doubled-back to the bathroom and slipped inside, instantly starting to undress herself. It was a tedious task, but she did it with care and pulled a towel around her pale form, tying another towel up in her hair.

She started to run the water and waited beside it, not feeling dirty enough to get clean. This trip was about the bath and the bath only. She paced around the room as it begun to fill with steam, turning certain parts of her towel see-through.

"I've returned for you, my beloved..." A voice whispered in the changing room, making Celestia pause and turn sharply towards the noise. Her back was facing the door, so she turned her head and widened her eyes at the sight of Hifumi, halfway through opening Alter-Ego's locker, now just as frozen in his movements as she was.

"Y-Yamada-kun?!" She cried, forgetting her composure for just a second. "What are you doing in here?!"

"I-I wanted to check on Alter-Ego! I swear I wasn't trying to spy on you or anything, Mistress Celestia!" As if to prove his futile point, he covered his eyes and quickly turned his back. "I'd never spy on you, you're too pure for that!"

"Get out!" Celestia yelled at him, looking around for something she could possibly throw. "Get out, get out!"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Hifumi squealed, running out of the changing room as fast as his stupid fat legs could take him. Celestia stared after him, nearly seething.

That absolute fool. The nerve of that imbecile. He was nothing but a worthless, brain-dead moronic idiot!

The baby kicked in protest, but Celestia ignored it for once as she closed the locker for Alter-Ego.

"’My beloved’, he said," She scoffed. "It is just an emotionless computer. If it _did_ have any feelings, it was because they were programmed into it,"

Still....she barely recalled the fact that when Chihiro was still alive, Hifumi trailed after him like a lovesick puppy. He was clearly delusional; even now he had trouble referring to Chihiro by his gender and quickly took to referring to a lifeless machine as a girl.

Maybe....just maybe...there was something worthwhile in that. Worthwhile in the fact that if Celestia timed it just right, his disturbing obsession with the laptop could prove useful in a future plan of hers.

She turned to the bath and shut the water off, slowly sinking in with a sigh. She adjusted the towel on her head and tied it tighter to make sure it wouldn't fall off into the water, then sat in the middle of the bath, closing her eyes.

When was the last time she was able to relax in a bath like this? She didn't remember. Her baby seemed soothed by the heat too, as despite moving around it didn't kick once. Celestia reached down into the water and softly rubbed at her feet, sighing again as she felt the tenseness in her ankles start to melt away. She truly needed this more than she realized.

After Celestia soaked in the water for nearly an hour, she was decidedly spent as well as relaxed so she stood up and quickly dried herself off, putting on her clothes. Afterwards, she erased any trace of herself having ever been there and walked up the stairs to the rec room, pleased to find nobody else in there and settled herself down into a chair. She browsed through the magazines and paused when her hand passed over a parenting magazine that spoke of the third trimester and what to do right after the baby was born.

Celestia yanked the magazine off the rack before she could lose her nerve further and sat back down, poring over the magazine and growing interested in it. A lot of the 'baby's first day' necessities she had no access to inside the school and found herself musing if Monokuma would provide them. After all, she might not have much use for a walker or car seat, but surely they couldn't go forever without ignoring baby bottles or diapers or even a crib?

"Top of the morning, Celes-chi!" An overly-cheery voice reached her, making her look up in horror and begin folding the magazine up. "Wasn't expecting to see you in here just reading. Whatcha reading there, anyway? Anything good?"

It was the obnoxious wanna-be shaman.

"None of your business," She smiled sweetly, folding the title up so he couldn't see it.

"Is it some kinda gambling thing?"

"Indeed it is. Hence, even if I wished to share it with you, a lot of the terminology would go over your head,"

"It's a shame. I was thinking of learning cards myself,"

"Maybe Naegi-kun could help you in that dream," She slipped the magazine behind her subtly, folding her hands up under her chin and smiling still. "Now if you will excuse me, I would like to return to my reading. That is why I came up here, alone. Because I wished to read and not be disturbed,"

Yasuhiro took a look at her before sighing and leaving the room, making her wince once he was completely gone.

First that fat oaf, then the stupid shaman. Could she really find no peace n this place?! Who was she going to run into next, the annoying swimmer?

Her baby had finally settled and seemed to be asleep, which made her put a hand on her stomach.

"What am I going to do? I cannot stand living in a place like this any longer. I need to have you in the privacy of...well, really anywhere that is private. I cannot let any of the others know about you, or anything about me..." She felt herself starting to tremble. "I cannot stand living like this anymore...!" In a sudden fit of rage, she grabbed the magazine and threw it against the wall, hard. She panted.

_Blood in the delivery room, blood in the delivery room...don't think about it!_

Celestia forced herself to take a deep breath and tightly gripped the edges of her skirt. She would not lose her cool. She would not lose her temper. She would remain calm and collected and dignified. She would retain her elegant aura.

"Celestia Ludenberg...Celestia Ludenberg...Celestia Ludenberg..." She tried whispering to herself to calm herself down.

For the first time in her life, it did little to cease her troubled mind.


	17. Chapter 3: A Superhero Rises; Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celestia and Hifumi both try to deal with their own secret demons. Kyoko catches Hifumi with Alter-Ego. Monokuma finally reveals the third motive, causing Celestia to finally start planning out her own murder plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

Everyone was asleep as usual that night, everyone except for one person.

Hifumi Yamada.

He felt awful about breaking Mistress Celestia's nighttime rule, especially since it was entirely possible she could be walking around and catch him out of his room like she did a few days ago for Chihiro, and then what? Maybe he could beg on his knees for her forgiveness. She'd like that, right? She was probably a huge sadist and took pleasure in stepping on weaker men. Why else would she be dressed like that? Oh yes, a true sadistic queen, who wears tight red lingerie underneath her dresses and steps on the crotches of men with her high-heels, intending to break them, laughing sadistically with her hand in front of her mouth. Just like a prissy ojou-sama, except she was real!

But Celestia, even though she had the demeanor and grace of a queen, could only go so far in helping his heart heal from his beloved Madame Fujisaki. Chihiro left the laptop in his likeness for a reason, so they wouldn't get lonely after his passing! It's almost like he knew he'd die, in a way.

Alter-Ego was the perfect imitation of Chihiro in every area except one-her gender. She was a real true girl, which made her even better than the real Chihiro! Just seeing her once or twice wasn't nearly enough. He wanted to commit her face into memory, tell her about his life, listen to that adorable laugh, hear her call him 'Master' in that sweet voice of hers that felt like cotton candy tickling your ears.

Hifumi snuck into the bathhouse, glancing around in the dark and finding the laptop they placed to still be in the same locker, the door opened ever so slightly. He walked over as silently as he could and pulled the locker open, taking the laptop out and sitting down on the bench. He booted it up and within only a few seconds-

"Oh, Yamada-kun! Nice to see you again! I've been getting better at recognizing faces, see?" Alter-Ego greeted cheerfully, a big grin on her features. Hifumi nodded eagerly.

**You are! You recognized me on sight! You're starting to become a regular housewife!**

"What's that?"

**They stay at home and cook dinner for their husbands and wear cute frilly aprons with nothing underneath them and when their husband comes home, they greet them at the door with a big smile and happily say: 'Welcome home, Master! Would you like your dinner, your bath, or me first?'**

"Oh..." Alter-Ego's eyes had lit up in fascination. "Can you tell me more?"

Hifumi nodded and started typing in as much as he could remember about housewives and what kinds of aprons he liked and what foods he liked and what sorts of anime he had seen the perfect housewives in. Alter-Ego would giggle cutely and beg to know more about his favourite shows and why he liked them so much and why he liked the food that he did.

**Call me 'Master' again.**

"Okay, Master!" Alter-Ego laughed.

Her cuteness was too much for even Hifumi to take!

 **Can you change your appearance?**

"Well, only a little bit. I have a feature Master installed that allows me to turn into any of his former classmates,"

**No, I meant your clothes. What do you have on underneath?**

"Hm? Like under my clothes? Just my programming,"

**The shirt! The skirt!**

"I do not have a skirt on! Master gave me clothes to wear similar to his own," Alter-Ego giggled. "But I suppose if I tried hard enough, I could put on a skirt for you,"

Hifumi nodded eagerly, and with a spin, Alter-Ego revealed she was dressed similarly to how Chihiro was when she first met him. He couldn't stop drooling. "How's this, Master?"

**Perfect! I love it! You look so adorable!**

Alter-Ego giggled. "I'm glad you like it! My purpose is to help you out and make you happy!"

Oh, he was quite happy alright. _Very_ happy, in fact, if the bulge in the front of his pants was any indication of that. Hifumi was no stranger to the more sexual side of things; he would happily consider masturbation to be one of his favourite pasttimes and something he did nearly every morning, hence why he often showed up late to breakfast. He didn't think anything could be better fap material than Chihiro, at least until Hifumi learned his secret. But here was an even better version of Chihiro, a version of Chihiro that was not only cute and sweet and kind and helpful but also eager-to-please and a girl and digital! A digital girl!

 **Spin around some more,** Hifumi directed, scooting back on the bench slightly to give himself ample room. Alter-Ego nodded and continued to do so, making her skirt twirl around and reveal the frilly sheer petticoat and thick white tights underneath. Did she wear panties underneath? Cute ones with flowers or polka-dots, or a more anime-spin with stripes. Either seemed like they'd fit her perfectly.

After watching her for a few more seconds, Hifumi placed his hand at the front of his pants and felt the large erection there, then a second later, unzipped his pants and pulled it out, giving it a few slow strokes. It really didn't need that, but Hifumi still enjoyed the stimulation, moaning a bit. Alter-Ego hadn't seemed to notice, as she kept spinning and dancing around, making her skirt swish about.

Hifumi continued to stroke his erection, starting out slow but quickly gaining speed as he pumped his hand up and down. Alter-Ego raised her hands above her head and ran them through her hair, shaking her hips.

"Am I doing great?" She chirped, but Hifumi had hardly heard her. His eyes were closed and he had gone off into his imaginary world, thinking of Alter-Ego dancing around. Sometimes she would be replaced by Chihiro in the same outfit, or Celestia in a gothic version, but the action was the same. He pumped harder and harder, faster and faster, feeling his climax starting to build up. "Master?"

Oh yes, she had called him that again, in that adorable little voice of hers, he had always wanted a girl to call him that...

"Master? Master!?"

He finally cummed after that, big globs of cum shooting out and splashing onto the screen of the laptop. He began to pant and opened his eyes, observing what he had done. It was the first time he had ever cummed in a girl's face before!

 **I'm alright now. You did great!** He quickly typed in to reassure her after he managed to compose himself, getting redressed. Alter-Ego clasped her hands together nervously, her shimmering eyes hard to see behind the cum dripping down. He should probably clean that. He leaned in a bit closer, still panting, wondering if he had his wipe for his glasses still in his pocket-

"What are you doing?" A different female voice asked sternly from the shadows, making him jump.

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all! Alter-Ego just got a bit dirty so I was trying to clean her screen off, is all!" He stammered, leaning down in front of her. The owner of the voice stepped into the room, revealing Kyoko staring him down. He tried not to shiver under her gaze, wondering if that made him even more suspicious.

"You cannot visit Alter-Ego in the middle of the night, it's too suspicious," She scolded. "You can clean the screen off tomorrow,"

"I just think it's best if I did it right now. I promised her, you know?"

Kyoko continued to stare, and Hifumi slipped the cloth out of his pocket. "See? I even have a rag for her," He slowly started wiping the screen off, refusing to take his eyes off Kyoko. Kyoko moved closer and studied him.

Kyoko gave off unsettling vibes to Hifumi even at the best of times. He didn't dislike her or anything, but she always knew everything about everyone even if they never said anything. He bet she knew about his 'morning routines' and crush on Chihiro. She may have been a secret tsundere, but Hifumi was slowly starting to learn that there were more to his classmates just below the surface than he originally knew about. Chihiro wasn't really a woman. Leon wasn't actually a hotheaded jock. And Kyoko wasn't truly a tsundere.

"What's on the screen?" She moved even closer, making Hifumi stifle a yelp.

"Yogurt,"

Her eyes bored into him in a way that made him shiver. She _knew._ He didn't know how she knew, but she did. She knew _exactly_ what he was doing in there.

He finished wiping the screen off and sat up, revealing the confused stare of Alter-Ego.

"Kirigiri-chan? Yamada-kun?" She spoke out, back to the suit they found her in. Kyoko shook her head and carefully turned the laptop off, closing the locker. Hifumi tried to match her serious stare, looking right at her.

"If I catch you in here again, you'll get far worse than a scolding. This could be our only way out and I will not have you jeopardize it,"

"There's nothing wrong with trying to talk to her and learn more,"

"Alter-Ego isn't here to learn from us," She turned around and began to walk away. "I mean it, Yamada-san,"

Hifumi could only sigh and quietly trudge after her, following her back to their dorms. She disappeared into her room first, and he could've gone back and talked to Alter-Ego more, he could, he _wanted_ to, but Kyoko's piercing stare was still fresh in his mind, so with another sigh, he resigned himself to going to bed himself.

^*^

That morning, Kyoko told everyone she would be keeping a closer eye on Alter-Ego, as certain people had been forgetting the point of the laptop was to keep it safe and a secret. As she said that, she shot a pointed glare at Hifumi, making Celestia stifle her giggles. It made far too much sense that that fat fool had been caught getting overly-familiar with the laptop. It looked and spoke just like his beloved she-male, so why wouldn't he love it?

After breakfast, Celestia found herself with nothing to do for once. Her baby was asleep within her, and she had finished her latest dress for both her and the child. Bored, she sought out Makoto and asked him if he'd entertain her in a game of cards.

"Oh, sure! What did you have in mind?" He asked nicely, making her giggle.

"My, you have no fear at all! I assumed you would be far more intimidated being offered a game by an Ultimate Gambler,"

"Well....I already know I don't have much of a chance of winning, but it'll still be fun, right?"

"Indeed. I myself am far more interested in seeing how far your luck can go while being pushed to the limit," She covered her mouth and studied him. "What game?"

Makoto shrugged.

"Marvelous! I will play Slapjack with you,"

The two went to the rec room, and once she started setting up the game on a small table did Makoto speak again.

"Slapjack? I expected something a bit more..."

"Sophisticated? Elegant?" She continued shuffling their cards. "This game relies mainly on luck, which both of us seem to have an abundance of. Therefore I thought it would be interesting to see how far we could stretch that,"

Makoto nodded, laughing awkwardly. "If that's true, I'd likely have a low chance winning against you,"

"But that is what makes it fun, _non?"_ She finished shuffling the cards and handed Makoto his own stack, holding onto hers and laying a card down. Then he laid one down, then her, and thus it continued.

"Celes-san...I always wanted to know," Makoto spoke up after a while.

"Hm? What is it?" She looked up at him, laying down another card.

"What's with that rating system you use for the guys? And why are girls exempt?"

"Oh, that thing? It is how I judge how worthy one is to be my servant. Only men are eligible," It made sense to her, she was only attracted to men after all.

"What?!"

"Yes. I want to live in a palace filled with butlers dressed in old-fashioned outfits. They will be my butlers, my bodyguards...therefore, only the best will do," Celestia smiled. "I will only consider someone of B-Rank,"

"So most people aren't worth your time..." He deduced, and she nodded.

"Yes."

"Nobody's made it to B-Rank before?"

"Not even to C-Rank," She confirmed, placing down another card as she thought about it.

Wasn't that right...? Nobody had ever achieved C-Rank before? She had a sudden image of running her hands through the hair of a random man, the face she was unable to make out. They were completely naked except for a cross necklace-

"I am terribly sorry to cut our game short, but I realized I was required elsewhere," She smiled sweetly and placed all of her cards down, standing up. Her breasts felt hard and pushed against the fabric of her bra.

"O-Oh! Where are you going?" Makoto asked curiously, watching her starting to leave quickly.

"I.....Yamada-kun requested my assistance with a doujin of his and I decided to oblige," She felt her underwear moisten and tried her hardest not to wince, especially as the image came back to her. She managed a curtsy. "We shall continue our game another day,"

Makoto nodded and as soon as she was out of sight, Celestia walked quickly back to the dorms, walking over to a door and pausing slightly before she knocked on it. If anyone could help her, it'd be him.

"What?" Byakuya asked in annoyance, opening up his door slightly. Celestia placed a hand on her chest, looking downwards.

"Oh, it's terrible, Togami-san! I..I require your assistance on a very personal matter," She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"And what makes you think I wish to help?"

"No other man left here is as qualified for the task as you are," She smiled sweetly and stepped closer. "I would be very willing to be underneath you for a night,"

"Get it through your head that you and I are nothing alike. You are a classless, vulgar wench and just the sight of you irritates me. Leave my sight," Byakuya then shut the door in her face, making her wince again.

"Fine then, have it your way," She bit her lip and headed back to her own dorm and shut the door, leaning against it. She continued to bite her lip and placed her hands on her breasts, feeling how expansive they were and shivering at the sensitivity. She didn't squeeze them; afraid of milk dribbling out. Could the Mastermind supply her with a special brassiere like they did her maternity dress? She really didn't want milk stains on her outfits.

She then ran her hands down the rest of her body, frowning as she thought about what she had to do. She glanced up at the camera in her room and wished that she could cover it up with a blanket or something, just once.

"Nothing for it..." Celestia sighed to herself and sat down on her bed, undoing her dress and gently folding it up at her feet. She then slowly undressed the remainder of her body and gently touched at her blossom, gasping and shivering in delight.

It was one of the few times she could actually recall feeling so pleased she orgasmed.

^*^

Kyoko was up late at night as usual, feeling too plagued by nightmares to consider falling back asleep. She wasn't suffering from night terrors necessarily, nor was she afraid to go back to sleep, she just didn't see much purpose in falling asleep only to wake up every few hours. She was fully aware she was breaking Celestia's nighttime rule, but she didn't care anymore. Let Celestia find her and expose her in front of everyone else. She could handle Celestia. She could handle everyone else.

Besides, she had an actual reason for staying up; she had to keep an eye on Alter-Ego. She wasn't reckless enough to watch it directly, but she still kept an eye on the dorms to make sure nobody else who was awake would start heading for the bathhouse, because that would be suspicious. She had wandered the halls several times over on all three floors and had seen no-one else that night.

Not even....

She stopped and turned sharply as she heard footsteps, keeping her own light as she silently followed after in the direction that they came from, arriving just in time to see a dark shadow vanish into the bathhouse. She frowned to herself. Was it the Mastermind? Was she about to catch them in the flesh? Or was it one of her classmates, acting recklessly stupid? She remained silent, keeping her frame pressed against the wall to listen for voices.

The frantic, frenzied sound of typing soon reached her ears, but she ignored that. She waited for Alter-Ego's response, but none came.

The Mastermind, then. They must've found a way to disable Alter-Ego's security features and muted it so they could take it without worry-

But it was told to scream if a suspicious individual arrived, was it not? Clearly, that meant whoever had it was a familiar face to it, which meant...

She peeked her head in and widened her eyes when she saw Hifumi's shadowy figure, leaning in close to the laptop's screen, panting heavily. A sizeable bulge was in the front of his pants, and every so often he'd reach down and stroke it.

"Yamada-san," She announced, making him shriek and look at her.

"L-Lady Kirigiri!"

"I specifically told you Alter-Ego was off-limits, did I not? And yet I find you in here interacting with it, endangering our lives,"

"B-But, Lady Kirigiri-"

"I will make sure the others know of your transgression in the morning," She stepped closer and swiped the laptop, eyeing it and finding the surfaces to all be clean. She turned it off and silently shut the locker, still glaring at Hifumi, who jumped. "And to make sure you cannot do such a thing the second I turn my back, you will spend the remainder of the night in my room,"

"But isn't that against the rules?"

"I never took someone like you to be such a stickler, considering what I just walked in on,"

Hifumi sighed and looked down, defeated.

"Celes-san slept with Fujisaki-kun a week ago, though I suppose they didn't sleep in the same room together. Hagakure-san and Asahina-san slept together our second night here and they definitely did so, as I saw Asahina-san leaving his room in the morning. The Mastermind has done nothing about it," Kyoko continued, knowing it was true.

"A-Are you perhaps suggesting, Lady Kirigiri-?"

"No." She stared at him, making him tremble. "You may sleep on my floor. I am sorry I have to take a precaution such as this, but I must. You cannot keep endangering our only source of information," She stepped closer and stared down at him, keeping her arms firmly crossed in front of her chest.

Hifumi remained silent, not even looking at her. She turned away and started walking, keeping her steps light. She heard Hifumi follow after her after a time and walked slow enough that he'd know where she was, eventually coming to a stop in front of her dorm. She unlocked it carefully and pushed the door open, letting Hifumi go in first before shutting it.

"Not one for decorating," He finally spoke up, laughing weakly. Kyoko presumed he meant it as some sort of joke or ice-breaker, but still didn't respond. She yanked the covers off her bed and spread them out smoothly at the foot of her bed, making a nice cot. "But don't you need any blankets, Lady Kirigiri?"

She shook her head and motioned to the cot, sitting in her own now-bare bed. She had never been one for frivolous things and could probably sleep on a rock if she absolutely had to. She heard Hifumi wriggling around in the covers and thought silently to herself that she should probably wash them before the next night. She had no desire to sleep in a river of sweat. After he stopped moving, she laid down herself and just laid there, still, thinking. She wasn't worn-out enough to fall asleep, so she knew she'd just remain awake for the remainder of the night.

And that was exactly what she did.

=

In the morning, she opened her eyes at the announcement-when had they even closed, anyway?-and saw Hifumi trying to make up the small cot he slept in that night. She got out of bed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Go to the bathhouse. I'll meet you there with whoever is in the cafeteria," She stated, watching him leave, still trembling. She headed to the cafeteria and found Celestia, Aoi, and Sakura already there. "Girls...what do you say to a morning bath before breakfast?"

"I'd be up for it!" Aoi instantly perked up, smiling. Sakura caught Kyoko's eye and nodded, and the two headed off. Celestia remained where she was, staring at an apple slice she had stabbed with her fork. Kyoko glared at her.

"It's for all of the girls,"

"Just as last time, I am afraid I must decline," She smiled sweetly, setting her fork down.

"It's not optional,"

Celestia caught her eye and saw the expression there, sighing.

"If I must bathe with the others, then I must," She very slowly stood up, a hand on her stomach before sighing again. Kyoko raised an eyebrow but didn't question her further. Just as she left, she spotted Yasuhiro coming in.

"Hagakure-san. When Naegi-kun gets here, tell him to meet us in the bath," She whispered, and he nodded.

"Got it, Kirigiri-chi! You can count on me!"

She sincerely hoped she could, then left the cafeteria to meet up with the other girls and Hifumi, who thankfully hadn't tried to avoid his punishment. Yasuhiro and Makoto had arrived after a few seconds, and Hifumi instantly ran up to him, nearly in tears.

"Master Makoto! You have to help me! I think she's trying to kill me!" He sobbed, pointing at her.

"Kill you?" Makoto looked over at her, making her sigh.

"I never said I was going to kill him. I warned him once the other day, indirectly, hoping that would be enough to stop him. Now I just want a proper explanation for what he was trying to do," She looked at Hifumi, who still looked ready to cry.

"Deplorable. You could not be with your one true love, so you have taken to imitating having intercourse with a computer who just happens to look like him," Celestia sighed, playing with her hair boredly. Though she was trying to hide it, she was placing her other hand firmly on her stomach, rubbing it gently.

"Why don't you explain yourself?" Makoto spoke up, staring only at Hifumi.

"I just wanted to spend more time with her..."

"Even though I specifically forbade it?" Kyoko jabbed at him.

"I-I couldn't help it! I just wanted to talk to her, hear her laugh, see her face one more time...it's a lot of fun to talk to her,"

"I once read the fortune for a president of a company. He had fallen in love with a mannequin and your eyes look just like his did!" Yasuhiro said.

"No way! I have a frozen heart of steel! I cannot have fallen in love, me of all people!" He suddenly gasped. "Is this love!?"

"Fallen deeply in love," Aoi sighed, shrugging.

"At first I just wanted to hear her say 'Master' once more in that cute voice of hers, but the more we talked...she seemed so interested in my hobbies and interests...she didn't shy away or act disgusted...rather...she was so happy and interested by everything I told her about. No other girl had been like that before with me...soon I was in love with everything about her," Hifumi stared down at his feet.

"But do you not understand? It is a computer program designed specifically to learn and grow from interacting with others. It is fascinated with what it does not know. Therefore, it was not interested in you, only your information," Celestia continued to twirl her hair around on her finger. "You specialize in an area Chihiro-kun wasn't as knowledgeable in. Therefore, Alter-Ego desired that information from you,"

"I know that, but-"

Before Hifumi could finish his sentence, he got interrupted by Kiyotaka loudly shoving his way into the bathhouse, an intense look in his eyes. Kyoko nearly stepped back in surprise herself, unsure of what to make of it.

"I'm sick of listening to all of your selfish, self-serving crap!" He yelled.

"Hey, Ishimaru-chi! Welcome back to the land of the living!" Yasuhiro cheered.

"Ishimaru? Who the hell is that?!"

"It's you,"

"No way! I don't go by that name anymore! It's Mondo and I together, Kiyondo Ishida!"

"They fused together?!"

"Well..." Makoto chimed in, quickly explaining what had happened. Kyoko whirled on him and stared at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"And you thought that would be a good idea because....?" She demanded.

"He just looked so...dead! I wanted to help him out in any way that I could!" Makoto defended himself.

"Anyway, that is my Bro, and it belongs to me and me alone! If it weren't for Alter-Ego, I never would've gotten over my guilt and reconnected with Bro!" Kiyondo continued.

"No..." Hifumi softly said. "Alter-Ego is mine, fueled by our strong love for each other..."

"No, our friendship is fueled by the brightly burning heat of a thousand suns!"

"Stop it," Kyoko sighed, looking away. She was starting to get a headache. "Fujisaki-kun left this laptop here for all of us, not just one person. It's our first real lead into figuring out the mysteries of this school,"

"Indeed. If thou does not take heed of our warnings, then thou can accept me as your enemy," Sakura spoke up, an intense expression on her features.

"Your answers?"

"Yes..." Hifumi sighed in defeat.

"Yeah," Kiyondo looked away.

"Let's leave. Staying here for too long is too suspicious. I'll consider some other countermeasures to put into place to protect the laptop further," Kyoko ran a hand through her hair. Everyone else nodded and dispersed, except for Celestia, who had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Before I take my own leave...I saw something a few days ago I thought would be of interest to you. I was taking a relaxing bath by myself when I saw Yamada-kun sneak in and try to talk to Alter-Ego. He called it 'his beloved' and was obviously trying to converse with it before I shooed him away," Celestia whispered.

"So this is the third time he's tried to talk to the laptop?" Kyoko clenched her hands into fists. That fool...!

"Yes...I am afraid he feels too reckless. Love really _does_ make people act like fools,"

"You _would_ know about that, wouldn't you?"

_"Pardon moi?"_

"You cannot keep refusing bathhouse meetings like this. You may be a loner, but resisting too much looks suspicious to the Mastermind." Kyoko mimicked Celestia's pose and made her gaze center on her waist. "But the reason you've been avoiding us doesn't have anything to do with your personality, does it?"

 _"Pardon moi?"_ Celestia repeated, digging her hands into the ends of her dress.

"You're always holding your stomach...have specific tastes...your dress is looser in the waist...you changed your clothes entirely...you're always tired and say your feet and back hurt..." Kyoko looked at her. "You're pregnant,"

"Oh? How could you throw around such a baseless accusation such as that?" Despite her sweet smile, her eyes glittered dangerously.

Kyoko looked away. "I gave you all my evidence,"

"You are not going to tell anyone, are you? Nobody likes a tattletale, Kirigiri-san," More glitter in her eyes.

"I don't think anyone would believe me," She shrugged; it was true. All of her observations could've easily been waved away as something else. "I just want you to know that you are terrible at hiding certain things. Do not keep resisting meetings," She then turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Celestia alone in the bathhouse.

^*^

Celestia dug her fists into her skirt more, biting her lip. She felt ready to cry again and bit her lip harder.

Damn that crafty, sneaky, secretive, aloof, prying, manipulative, meddling, bitch!

Who did she think she was!? Did she think she was better than her, somehow, just because she was more approachable? Did she think she could possibly hope to intimidate someone like Celestia Ludenberg, the Queen of Liars, who had stared death in the face several times over? She wasn't afraid of anything! She wasn't! Why, she was going to march right up to Monokuma the next time she saw him and demand he grab the nearest coat-hanger. The sooner this freeloader was out, the better. She felt a few kicks and gasped audibly, clutching her stomach.

"Stop it," She stomped her foot and left the room, keeping her composure. She wouldn't let Kyoko anger her. She wouldn't let anyone anger her. She was Celestia Ludenberg, and she didn't lose her temper, or say horrid things, or think horrid thoughts, lest she get cursed and have frogs and toads and snakes fall from her mouth everytime she spoke. She'd rather jewels and gold and flowers fall instead. Some half-forgotten memory appeared to her then, of a girl giggling and telling her she was too mean to have flowers fall out of her mouth, because no fairy would give her a gift because she was too cruel to everyone. Celestia had shoved that girl's hand into a toy microwave and slammed the door on it hard.

Before she could head back to her dorm, she got stopped by the chiming of the speaker system, telling everyone to head down to the gym for the next motive. She sighed. She supposed the timing was right, if a few days early, but perhaps Monokuma had just grown bored. Whatever it was would certainly be a waste of her time, but she had to go anyway.

So with another sigh, she stood up straight and walked to the gym, finding Byakuya and Touko there already. She offered a smile to Byakuya.

"My, you are punctual, aren't you?"

He simply glared at her and instead took to criticizing Makoto, saying how it was rude to have him wait instead.

"You never change, do you?" Celestia tried again, tittering. "I agree that it is a sign of poor etiquette when the lady of the house is made to wait for her servants to arrive. A true servant always arrives before the lady of the house does,"

Once everyone had arrived, Monokuma appeared from behind the podium.

"Don't keep us waiting. What's the motive this time?" Byakuya demanded.

"Whatever it is, you can't make it work! We won't listen to you!" Aoi announced.

"Really? Even though this time I come baring a gift?" A huge pile of money fell out of an opening somewhere above him, stacking up into neat little piles. "Ten billion dollars! I will give it to anyone who manages to graduate!"

"That's all?" Byakuya scoffed.

"Money is a basic incentive for murder," Kyoko said.

Celestia's eyes widened. Ten billion dollars...and it would all be for her. Ten...billion...dollars.

Ten....

Billion...

Dollars...

With that money, she'd never have to ever see her worthless parents ever again. She could buy her cat all the gourmet cat food he could ever want. And her....

No more cold showers. No more tight clothes several sizes too small for her. No more endless meals of jamwiches and ramen. She could finally live in her own castle, hire all of her butlers, live by herself, all by herself, in a large Gothic castle in the hills of Scotland or Italy or Germany or France-

"Celes-san? Did you hear what I said?" Aoi asked in confusion.

"Hm? What did you say?" Celestia asked, smiling a bit.

"We were all agreeing we wouldn't kill anyone for money...right?"

"Indeed. I have everything I could possibly ever want," The lie slipped from her lips so easily it scared her.

"I read in a novel once about a woman who killed for money. The plot twist was she was doing it for her unborn child whom she wished to live a good life and not herself," Kyoko commented, eyeing Celestia.

She could see right through her...that crafty bitch!

She left the gym and went up to her room, nearly trembling once she shut the door.

If she got away with murder, she would have that money all to herself. Nothing would matter anymore. She could finally be rich and never care about anything anymore.

It would be the most perfect, romantic plan she could think of. Extravagant and convoluted. She wouldn't even have to dirty her own hands if she was lucky and thought it through carefully. And Celestia Ludenberg had lots of luck to spare. She just had to watch out for...

"Damn you!" Celestia suddenly cried, pulling at her hair. Everything she had felt in the past few days finally exploded within her and she screamed loudly, tears falling down her face. "Fuck this! I fucking hate it all! I want to leave! I'll fucking kill them _all_ if I have to!" She threw the pillows off her bed and knocked over her mannequins, seething. "I hate this fucking place! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! They're always breathing down my neck, waiting for me to make the littlest mistake! Then they'll all laugh at me, laugh at me because I'm not beautiful and rich and elegant, I'm plain and poor and worthless!" She recalled what she told Kyoko earlier and hurriedly wrote out two notes, ripping them from her notebook. She read them over carefully and folded them up, whispering her name to herself. For once, it wasn't to calm herself down.

Suddenly, as she stood up, she suddenly felt a sudden drop in her stomach and fell to her knees, breathing heavily. She thought of the blood in the hospital room and collapsed, holding her hand out so she wouldn't hit her head on the desk.

_Would there be blood? I don't want there to be blood. Please don't let there be blood,_

Celestia suddenly fainted, turning even paler.

=

Breakfast the next morning was unusually quiet, quieter than normal. Kyoko was gone, having taken lookout for Alter-Ego, while Kiyotaka's whereabouts were a mystery.

"Just let him be...it's what he deserves!" Hifumi grumbled to himself.

"You're quite angry today," Aoi pouted.

"Just leave him alone. They're both at war and in love," Yasuhiro said.

"Don't lump me into the same category as him! He's a total virgin! I can't catch his virginity!" Hifumi said.

"You've definitely caught it already though..."

"You can catch that?!" Aoi asked in alarm.

Celestia tittered. "I suggest we put this low-brow conversation to rest and have some breakfast, do you not agree?" She felt tired still, though not really physically tired. She felt mentally exhausted after the previous night with a slight headache. She had strong cravings for butter ramen and watermelon and gyoza all at once.

"Mornin'!" A familiar voice shouted through the cafeteria, and Celestia subtly sighed.

"We were not expecting thee to show up with him," Sakura nodded over at Byakuya.

"Don't ask about it," He stated.

"Oh? You won't tell everyone how I woke up wearing red lingerie?!" Genocide Jack laughed.

"You're cheating on me? My, how terrible," Celestia couldn't resist a jab at Byakuya, who still ignored her.

"You've been keeping something from me. I wish to know what it is," Byakuya continued, walking over to the table.

"Er, we can't really tell you right now..." Aoi blinked. "Reasons,"

"Fine. Then at least tell me what's wrong with Ishimaru. I ran into him yesterday in the hall and he seemed different,"

"I am sorry to say that he has passed on," Celestia swooned, her hands on her chest.

"Don't make it sound as if he's dead!" Makoto gasped.

"I see. He must've snapped in a situation like this and just went crazy. People like that are very weak," Byakuya crossed his arms in front of his chest and Celestia subtly winced. The words weren't targeted at her, yet she felt they were. She carefully put her hands on her breasts; they felt full of milk. "That's why you shouldn't focus so much on trying to develop relationships with other people,"

"Did you come here just to talk down to us?" Aoi demanded.

"Oh, I see I'm still disliked. Well, I suppose I'll just take my leave," He smirked, looking at Genocide Jack. "Do not follow me," He turned, took a step, then bolted fast out of the cafeteria.

"Why are you running from me?! No matter, I love a challenge!" Genocide Jack just raced after him.

"I wonder about them..." Makoto sighed.

"Do you think...?" Yasuhiro trailed off.

"Maybe Sir Togami is one of those characters who starts out super distant and rude but over time grows a heart and conscious and learns to be a better person," Hifumi suggested. "Maybe he's a tsundere,"

"Yeah, that's what I was getting at,"

Once breakfast was over, Celestia went back to her room, wincing at a large black machine placed on her desk. She recognized it; a breast-pump. There was also a note attached in girly handwriting that said: _In case your tits are sore! Aren't I thoughtful?~_

She instantly knew it was from the Mastermind.

Still, her breasts _were_ awfully full and sore....

She glanced up at the camera in her room and sat down at her desk, undoing the top half of her dress and pulling her bra down, placing the cupped bottle up to her nipple and pressing the nozzle, being startled when a loud cow moo resonated from the machine. She huffed.

"I should have known you weren't generous without some sort of catch," Celestia resumed pumping her breasts anyway, enjoying the relief the motion gave her.

After she finished pumping the two bottles full, she sighed and redressed herself, stuffing the breast-pump under her bed. She cradled the two bottles and hid them in the back of the fridge, not wishing for them to spoil but also not wishing for anyone to see them. She then headed to the bathhouse and smiled to herself, beginning to put her plan into motion. She slowly opened up the locker that contained Alter-Ego and smiled when the program's eyes widened.

 **Do not sound the alarm. I am merely moving you.** She typed quickly.

"Huh? But why?" Alter-Ego blinked innocently.

**Because the locker you are currently in is small and cramped. Would you not prefer a bigger one?**

"It feels fine to me..." Alter-Ego still looked at her in confusion, which she ignored. She gently lifted the laptop up and left the door open slightly, looking around. She spied an unlocked locker near the bottom and carefully placed the laptop in there, slamming the door shut. She then smiled more to herself.

Phase one of her plan was complete. She had no idea where Kyoko was, just that she wasn't around, which was perfect for her. She thought back to the notes she wrote the previous night and knew she would need them soon. Her child slept. Phase two of her plan would commence that night.

Before that, though, she had one extra thing to take care of. Heading back to the cafeteria, she spotted Kiyondo sitting by himself in the room and smiled to herself, walking in and making her hips sway.

"Oh, Ishida-kun! Might I have a brief word with you?" She asked sweetly, milking her increased femininity from her pregnancy.

"What?" He asked roughly, looking up at her. "You have some nerve, tryin' to get me like this! You never once cared enough to talk to me before!"

"What nonsense. I talked to you plenty. I had a dream of making you a servant of mine, you know," She stood up straight, perfectly posed, allowing her body to be in full view. "In fact, I don't think it's too late to accept that offer. I am still considering it,"

He said nothing.

Celestia leaned in further and smiled with an intense look in her eyes. "Fine. A man of few words, however I can still use fewer. Make love to me, Ishida-kun. That is all I wish. I am painfully lonely,"

"No way, it's wrong to take advantage of women like that!" He shook his head.

"It is not rape if the woman wants it," She reached out for his hand, but he pulled it away.

"Look, I'm not into that sort of thing! There are far more pressing things to worry about here!"

"Do me, Ishida-kun. I will not ask politely again. Even if it must be on this very table," She reached out for his hand again and this time he lashed out, grabbing a piece of her dress and accidentally ripping hard. Celestia screamed dramatically and fell to the ground in a heap. Kiyondo stood there in silent shock, still holding onto her dress piece. Celestia cried out again. "Oh, you mean awful brute! You put your hands on me!” She faked a sob, curling up away from Kiyondo. “You tore my favorite dress and put your hands on me...” 

“You did this! You know exactly what you did!” He accused, but Celestia ignored him and snatched the piece away from him. It was a large chunk taken from her left side and part of her breast, revealing her red rosy corset underneath. 

“This shall be a pain to fix.” She sighed and walked off, saying nothing more to him. Once she had left, a smile formed on her face. 

They were all her pawns, and she was the queen. Yes, being ruler of the school would suit her just fine.


	18. Chapter 3: A Superhero Rises; Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celestia finally goes through with her murder plan and receives her trial. Yet she says she had no regrets about anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I’ve been feeling pretty unmotivated about this story in general. It hasn’t been receiving the reactions I originally anticipated and it’s just exhausting when nobody tells you what you’re doing right or wrong. I don’t want to leave it incomplete though because I have so many ideas still! I want to retell THH! So I’m going to still stick with this
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

That jerk had stolen his beloved from him, he knows he did! That new version of Kiyotaka was crafty and couldn't be trusted. Hifumi knew he was waiting for the perfect opportunity for him to turn his back and then snatch his girlfriend right up from under his nose! And worst of all, everyone else seemed to think he was just as responsible! Even Mistress Celestia seemed quite nonchalant about the situation, saying it was best to look in the morning. Still, he wasn't about to argue with Kyoko, knowing that was a pointless endeavor. All he could really do was agree with everyone else to search in the morning and head off to his own dorm. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep though and instead stayed up drawing, jumping at the sudden sound of a knock at his door.

No, he wouldn't go over and answer, it was likely Kiyotaka trying to get a rise out of him, or Kyoko trying to make sure he wasn't telling some sort of lie. He would stay perfectly still in his seat, drawing, and eventually whoever it was would just assume he was asleep and leave eventually-

"Y-Yamada-kun..." A scared and timid voice whispered from the other side of the door, making him freeze in his motions. It sounded like...Mistress Celestia!?

No, it couldn't possibly be. It was a trick done by someone like Kyoko to fool him into letting his guard down. If he just ignored the knocks, they'd eventually go away.

"Yamada-kun, please open the door. Please...I-I really need to see you,"

He instantly jumped up from his chair and hurried to the door, pulling it open and widening his eyes at her state. "M-Mistress Celestia! Who did this to you?!" He helped her inside and looked around, yanking the Princess Buuko blanket off his bed and wrapping it around her shoulders. Part of her dress had been ripped on the left side and revealed what looked to be a corset.

She choked back a sob. "Oh, Yamada-kun...it's the most awful thing...I merely wished to ask Ishida-kun a question, and then he....he..." She sobbed. "Put his hands on me....he ripped my dress and grabbed my breasts..he would've done more if I hadn't managed to run off,"

"That's horrible!" Hifumi gasped, starting to feel his blood boil. How could Kiyotaka dare to do such a thing!? And to someone as pure and innocent as Celestia, no doubt! He would pay!

"Indeed...even though I ran away, he managed to hold me down and take a picture of my ripped dress and threatened to do more like...tying me up and...and...touching me there..." She sobbed more, though oddly no real tears came to her eyes-no! He shouldn't notice things like that! Mistress Celestia was clearly so upset she couldn't even properly muster up tears!

"W-We should find some way to stop him! Before he tries to hurt anyone else!"

"I-I fear he already has..." Celestia put her hands to her heart. "Earlier, I heard him boast loudly about how he managed to steal Alter-Ego from right under our noses and hide it away...I'm afraid for what he plans to do with it...it was so precious to my darling Chihiro-kun and the thought of someone like him having it-"

"What?! He stole Alter-Ego too?!" That did it. Kiyotaka had to pay. It wasn't enough for him to assault Celestia, but he also had to steal Alter-Ego, Chihiro's pride and joy, from him? He was the only one of them that showed Alter-Ego the care and kindness she deserved. Why, doing such a thing....

Celestia looked over at him.

"Please forgive me for saying such a thing, but...we should kill that son of a bitch! He deserves it!" He shouted, making Celestia gasp.

"You had the same thought I had! I know it is such a drastic measure, but...think of it this way. If we succeed, we'll both escape...with Alter-Ego,"

"Yeah, yeah! And Lord Ishimaru will be dead, unable to bother anyone else ever again!" He nodded in agreement.

"So you agree? You will help me?" Her eyes widened in surprise and she leaned in close. "We'll be perfect for this job, Yamada-kun. Ishida-kun will never know what hit him if we do this together!" Her eyes suddenly looked intense. Hifumi nodded again. "Wonderful! Let us shake on it then," She held out her black gloved hand, letting part of the blanket slip to the floor. Hifumi took it without hesitance, and they both shook on it. Celestia smiled sweetly at him. "Marvelous...let us get started then, shall we?" The blanket fell from her shoulders completely.

=

The first phase of their plan was to frame someone else for the crime, which made perfect sense to Hifumi. After all, they couldn't leave evidence that it was them! Celestia told him to make a good suit to trap their person in while she sought them out, and Hifumi agreed happily. By the time Celestia came back, he had made a full-sized replica of Robo-Justice from one of his most favourite anime along with his ultimate weapon, the Justice Hammers! Made from regular hammers found in the art-storage room.

Celestia walked in just as he was putting the finishing touches on the last hammer and gasped, a hand at her cheek. " _Mon dieu!_ The craftsmanship on this is _magnifique!_ ”

Hifumi couldn't stop himself from both beaming and blushing. "T-Thank you, Mistress Celestia! Do I sense a closeted fan? I wanted to make sure it was perfect, just for you!"

"You have certainly succeeded in that regard. In fact..." She walked over to him and gently took his hands in hers, making him blush even more. He trembled as her soft, black-clothed hands enclosed around his large, sweaty ones. Hers were cold despite the coverings yet she gave him a warm smile. "Thank you,"

"M-Mistress Celestia-!"

"Keep doing an outstanding job and you might get to touch more than just my hands tonight," She promised, pulling away before her expression suddenly turned serious. "But first, we must deal with Hagakure-kun. I lured him into the rec room, so we must hurry!"

Hifumi nodded and rushed after her, easily sneaking up behind Yasuhiro and knocking him out with the washcloth full of chemicals. He slumped over in his seat and Celestia wasted no time; the two strapped him into the suit while Hifumi pretended to be attacked by him and Celestia took pictures. Afterwards, they shoved his unconscious body into a pool locker, still clad in the suit.

"Yamada-kun..." Celestia smiled afterwards as they dumped the blueprints in Yasuhiro's room. "You did excellent on that part as well,"

Hifumi nodded in agreement, almost ready to pant. Of course he did a good job, he wanted to make Celestia happy in any way that he could! Plus, this would all be worth it once Kiyotaka was dead. That was their real goal and he never lost sight of that.

"C-Can I please...hold your hands again?" He asked shyly, reaching out for them. She smiled sweetly and held his hand tightly.

"Non, I shall allow you to hold something better," She guided his hand over to her small breast and gently placed it on top. Hifumi's whole face blushed bright red and the strong smell of chlorine was making his head spin.

"M-Mistress Celestia-!"

"You deserve this. And we have time...so you are free to touch them as much as you like," She continued to smile as he gingerly squeezed her left breast, feeling how supple and squishy it was. It was almost like a beach ball but way squishier. Most beach balls just flattened when you tried to squish them. And she was right, he did deserve it. So he took his other hand and started squeezing her other breast, kneading and squishing them through her clothes. She smelled of milk and a few drops of a liquid dripped onto her clothes, making her moan a bit. "Oh no...it seems I need...to empty my breasts..."

Hifumi almost instantly volunteered for that but managed to keep his mouth shut at the last second. Celestia would likely find that to be a bit too strange; girls didn't like it when guys randomly asked to suck their breasts. Touching, sure, but sucking was a whole other territory. Hifumi bet they didn't even let their boyfriends do that. 

Why the scent of milk? Were all the hentai he watched right? Virgins squirted breast milk when one touched them?!

He pressed her breasts together and squeezed some more before he stepped back, his hands still in the shape of her chest. He wished to keep that pose forever and engrave the shape and feeling of her breasts into his mind and hands for eternity.

Celestia stood up and smiled at him, still smelling of milk. "Well, that was your first time touching the real thing, I assume? Was it everything you wished for?"

He slowly nodded and barely choked out: "And more,"

=

Celestia sent him to kill Kiyotaka, which suited him just fine. There were other steps he needed to complete afterwards, but the one thought on his mind was killing that bastard and finally getting his revenge. He assaulted Celestia and stole Alter-Ego...he deserved it! Celestia managed to lure him out with a similar note she had given to Yasuhiro earlier; she explained, and while Kiyotaka waited for the note's author, that's when Hifumi himself would step in and kill him. Easy enough.

Kiyotaka stood in the room then, checking his watch uneasily. Hifumi tightened his grip on the hammer and slowly strode over to him, hiding it just as quickly behind his back with a yelp when Kiyotaka turned around to look at him.

"Yamada-kun, you're the person who gave me this note, huh?" Kiyotaka held it out, but Hifumi shook his head.

"N-No...maybe we were both lured to the same place by the same person..." He stammered and tried his hardest to look nervous. "Speaking of which...I want to ask you something,"

"Hm?"

"How could you lay your hands on Mistress Celestia?! She has done absolutely nothing to you, yet you threaten her and rip her dress!" Hifumi seethed.

"Hold on! She came onto me! I only ripped her dress on accident-"

"That's what all guys like you say. Lord Kuwata said the same thing about Lady Maizono, he did! It'll be much better for all of us if you just die!" Hifumi screamed and tried to bring the hammer down on Kiyotaka’s head, gasping when he tried to grab it and fight back. No matter....he shoved the hammer harder and heard the sound of shattering glass as Kiyotaka fell to the floor. Maybe his watch broke. He ripped the paper out of Kiyotaka’s hands, hearing a ripping wound before he slipped the note into his pants and panted as Celestia walked in.

"You remember the next part, correct? Hurry! They are likely starting to wake up!" She coaxed, and he nodded.

He had to head to the library, make himself look attacked, then while Celestia distracted the group, he'd play dead in the infirmary and then move Kiyotaka's body.

It was a perfect plan.

Fit for Celestia.

^*^

Everything was going exactly according to her plan. For once, Hifumi managed to keep some of his stupidity to himself and actually listened to what she said and told him to do. Their plan was almost complete, and the poor fool didn't even realize what was coming for him.

Poor fool, he makes me laugh, hahaha!

Celestia led Makoto and Aoi back down to the infirmary and gasped in shock when she saw the bloodied 'corpse' of Hifumi lying there. It reeked something awful-

"Oh God..." Aoi choked, turning blue and falling to her knees. She covered her mouth.

"Are you alright?!" Makoto asked in concern.

"It seems as though he has fallen victim to our mysterious madman," Celestia sighed, playing with her hair. "I figured it was only a matter of time. He’s dead too,”

"But wasn't he on the third-floor? He can't teleport!" Makoto said, making her huff.

"We have more important things to worry about. We must tell the others at once about this," She glanced over at Aoi, who was trembling. "That means you too,"

"I....I...I don't t-think I can..." She breathed heavily, making Celestia sigh.

"I'll go tell the others, you keep an eye on her!" Makoto directed before he took off running in the other direction. Celestia pouted and gently helped Aoi up to her feet.

"I will at least take you to the ladies' room. There's no sense in you making a mess in an already-dirty room," She scolded, helping Aoi walk unsteadily. The second they entered the nearby bathroom, Aoi coughed and made a beeline for the first stall she saw, leaning over the toilet and loudly vomiting into it.

Celestia stepped a bit closer, Kyoko's observation still on her mind. How dare she make such a statement....

Aoi vomited some more before coughing and choking, wiping her mouth off and flushing the toilet.

"Are you finished?" Celestia asked in slight annoyance. "Because that was utterly disgusting,"

"I shouldn't expect you to be kind, even at a time like this," Aoi pouted, staring down into the water. "You haven't shown remorse for a single person who's died thus far!"

"Showing remorse is a sign of weakness," Celestia stepped closer. "But tell me what is really on your mind,"

"Nothing," Aoi glanced away. Celestia waited before she gave her a soft smile. "I meant it, nothing!"

"When we first woke up here, I feel as though I was terrified moreso than anyone else. It was because unlike everyone else, I had an extra passenger with me," She gently placed her hands on her stomach. "I knew nothing of the father and was nearly about to give birth. The school accommodated me well, but I never told a single soul for fear of it being used against me. Especially in a game with such twisted rules,"

Aoi blinked.

"I say this to you in confidence because we are both girls and both seem to be stricken down by the same amenity," 

"W-What?! H-How did...I mean...I'm not pregnant!" Aoi huffed. "You can't just say something so personal like that!"

"You have cravings and morning sickness. I have bad cravings too. And unlike myself, you know who the father is and that is why you have been so hostile towards him as of late. I will not pretend to know your business. However I hope that the two of us can become closer over this shared discovery, for it would placate me just a small bit knowing I am not alone," Celestia smiled. "Especially being as far along as I am,"

"How far?"

"Nearly nine months,"

"What?! But-"

"A pregnancy corset. They hide your bumps like magic," She giggled. "Now, are you quite finished? If so, we must try and locate the others. Being gone as long as we have is troublesome,"

Aoi nodded. "Right!"

Celestia followed after Aoi, a small smile still on her face. Aoi was quite stupid; however that just made it easier to humiliate her. Knowing she was pregnant would open up several opportunities for manipulation later....

But first....

She let out a scream. "T-The body! It is gone!"

Aoi trembled, her eyes wide. "B-But...how? It can't just....get up and walk away..."

"I shall go tell the others," Celestia walked off and headed up the stairs, placing an urgent look on her face the best she could once she spotted them. "Quickly, Naegi-kun! It's awful! Yamada-kun's corpse...it's gone!"

"What?!" Makoto asked in disbelief.

Byakuya scoffed. "You're suggesting a dead corpse just got up and walked away?"

She grimaced.

"You two were down there though, right?" Makoto asked, and Celestia shook her head.

"I took her to the restroom to try and calm her down. We were only gone for a moment or two, but when we returned..." She widened her eyes. "I am afraid this is the work of our resident madman. Clearly he moved the body,"

"Then we have to go at once," Sakura said, and everyone headed back downstairs.

"See? I told you, it's gone! The madman moved it," She swooned. "It's terrible...he's probably laughing at us all, watching us run around all confused and afraid...he likely wants to kill us all off, just like he killed them," She put her hands on her heart, thinking of Hifumi moving Kiyotaka...if he was doing what he was supposed to be doing.

"I can't believe this," Byakuya said. "There is no way a corpse could just get up and move. Two people have died and then one body moves. Suspicious,"

"Wait, who else died?" Aoi asked shakily.

"Ishimaru-san, we found his body earlier in the physics room," Sakura answered calmly, making Aoi cry out.

"N-No! Then it's true! We really are all going to be killed off!"

"If that's so, then Fukawa is at the top of that killer's list. I left her there, unconscious," Byakuya smirked.

"Oh my, at the scene of the crime? How cold," Celestia jabbed.

"We have to get her," Makoto suggested, and everyone began heading up the stairs again. A lot of running, a lot of running. It was starting to tire Celestia out, if she were being honest with herself. She knew that was the price she had to pay for an elaborate and complex plan, but still. She made sure to tie her corset a bit looser that morning and her back still hurt.

At least Hifumi fulfilled his part of the plan, judging by the state of the room. Though...that fool! He wheeled the cart right through the blood and left an obvious track! They could use that for evidence! If there weren't a bunch of people around, she could try to scrub it out with her shoe or something, but...

"It seems as though the only person who is capable of doing all this is Hagakure-kun," Celestia placed her hands on her chest. Damn Kyoko evidently had an alibi for when her and Hifumi first got attacked, but no worries. Celestia was Celestia. She could figure out a way to pin a bunch of evidence on Kyoko later on if need be. It was what she was great at. "Thus, I say we split up and search for the bodies,"

"But..." Aoi began, but Celestia tittered.

"You have no need to be afraid. The rules say quite clearly that there can only be a maximum of two murders, and this culprit has already killed. Therefore, we have nothing to worry about,"

Once everyone split, Celestia headed for the art-room and carefully shut the door, smiling sweetly. She made sure to lock it behind her. "Yamada-kun!"

"Mistress Celestia!" He gasped, coming out of hiding. "Look, I killed him and moved the body and did everything else you said!" He panted like a pathetic puppy. "Do I get a reward?"

"Of course," She gently took his cheeks in her hands and placed a kiss on his lips, gasping a bit. "Believe it or not, I love you a lot, Yamada-kun. Everything I've ever said to you was just me being unsure of my own feelings," She looked around and noticed a large dusty hammer hanging up on the wall.

"We're going to escape together and live together forever and ever!" Hifumi carried on. "You truly are just a tsundere! You need to embrace your inner emotions!"

She yanked the hammer off the wall and hid it behind her back as she walked over to Hifumi.

"Could I...have another kiss, maybe?" He asked softly, looking up at her. Celestia smiled a sweet smile at him before she raised her hammer up high and swung it down on his head. His eyes briefly went wide in realization before she heard the signature crack, and then he fell to the floor and moved no more.

She panted heavily as she hurriedly washed the blood off the hammer and hung it back up on the wall. She needed to finish this, finish it now. She recomposed herself and ran out, gasping.

"Naegi-kun! Togami-kun! I found their bodies!" She cried in the best fake distressed voice she could muster.

"What? Where?" Makoto asked instantly.

"In the art-room storage," She led them there, finding Sakura and Aoi already there, Aoi looking ready to cry.

"Well, I suppose that settles that." Byakuya adjusted his glasses. Her E-Handbook dinged and she knew instantly without checking that they received a new Monokuma File. They both were dead.

"What settles what?" Aoi demanded. "Don't you have any respect either? They were our friends, our classmates, and now they're both dead! Dead! That means they're never coming back!" Aoi sobbed and got on her knees, gently cradling Hifumi's head in her lap. "We lost two friends of ours in one day..."

"Asahina-san..." Makoto said.

It was all quite soppy and overdramatic, even for Celestia's tastes. Aoi could cry over Hifumi's body all she wanted, this wasn't some fairy-tale where tears would magically cure someone, like how in Rapunzel her tears cured the prince of his blindness.

"Hnnnng...?" Hifumi asked slowly, making Aoi gasp.

"H-He's still alive?!"

_No...no! How could he have survived that hit to the head?!_

"Please hang in there!"

"I.....I...I'm so cold...oh dear....where am I...? Oh, I know now....Hope's Peak...with everyone...I met them all before I met them all...." Hifumi stammered, making Byakuya scoff.

"His brains are fried,"

"A light...the light is warm....and nice..."

"Who did this to you?" Aoi asked, and Celestia bit her lip hard enough to taste blood.

_Don't you dare tell them anything, don't you dare, you're just lying!_

She had a sudden image come back to her, mostly the awful smell of overcooked green beans and wind and lighting pounding hard on a darkened window and herself standing in the middle of the cafeteria, a single name on her lips.

"Ta......k.....Yasuhiro.." Hifumi gasped out.

_You absolute cretin. I hope you fucking burn in hell,_

Aoi continued to cry once Hifumi stilled, making Byakuya scoff again.

"Your tears couldn't even revive a goldfish,"

"My, you are a cold, insensitive, heartless bastard. Do your bones retain calcium, or are they as brittle and hard as your soul?" Celestia jabbed.

"Frankly, I'm upset at him. He ruined the whole game by revealing who the culprit was,"

"Tak Yasuhiro," Sakura said.

"Hagakure Yasuhiro," Celestia answered quickly. "I know it is not an exact match, but are we really going to sit here all day and debate on the memory of a literal dying man?"

"Hagakure did this, huh," Byakuya scoffed. Aoi sobbed.

"I'll never forgive him...never, never, never!" She cried. "He'll pay for killing two of our friends!"

"Regardless of that, it seems as though an investigation will begin again," Byakuya said, and everyone nodded and started to split up. Sakura and Aoi remained behind to guard the crime scene, while Celestia herself headed back down to the infirmary. She searched through the cabinets for some sort of pain medicine before eventually sighing and closing it, opting to sit down instead. She placed a hand on her stomach and puckered her lips, despising the smell of dried blood left over on the floor from Hifumi's trick. Maybe she could try and clean it up-

"Celes-san? What are you doing in here?" Makoto's voice reached her, and she placed her hands under her chin and smiled sweetly.

"Just searching for some things, as everyone else is. I particularly am interested in where Hagakure-kun is hiding," He was still shoved in the pool-locker, but he was likely awake by that point. She had to get to him first to ensure secrecy.

"Yeah...I'm trying to gather clues, but there's one thing that bothers me. How was the culprit able to move Yamada-kun's large body around? Do you have any ideas?" He asked, and Celestia just shrugged.

"I do not know. Asahina-san was feeling under the weather and looked ready to be sick, so I took her to the restroom as I said before. We were only gone for a minute or two but when we returned, it was gone,"

Makoto nodded and walked past her to continue investigating the room and dug through the trash, gasping.

"Did you find something?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, this! It's a rag you use to clean glasses off with...but it's covered in blood. Why would someone use something like this to wipe blood off?"

"I do not know," She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Hmmmmm...thank you anyway,"

"You're welcome," Once he left, Celestia took that opportunity to leave as well, heading upstairs for the pool. When she pushed open the door, she was hit by the strong smell of chlorine and the sight of Kyoko kicking Yasuhiro several times in succession, still dressed-up. She walked over in curiosity. "My, we have found the madman! We should tell the others!"

"I already told Asahina-san," Kyoko stepped back as Yasuhiro groaned. "He was asleep...I think he might've been drugged or something,"

"Useless,"

Aoi arrived, and then Byakuya and Makoto arrived just a minute apart from each other, staring at the costume. Kyoko relayed to Makoto what she had just told her, making Yasuhiro groan again.

"Come on, stop tellin' everyone about how you kicked me! I know I was asleep, but couldn't you have gently caressed my face or something?"

"That's creepy," Kyoko said bluntly.

"Can you take that off? It's an eyesore," Byakuya demanded.

"I don't think I can take it off. Why can't I take it off?!" Yasuhiro cried. "It's really made by an evil secret society!"

"You should refrain from building things you cannot take off," Celestia sighed in annoyance.

"I didn't build this thing though!"

"There's a clasp on his back. It's sealed pretty tight and that's what's keeping him in the costume," Kyoko observed before sighing. "Alright, I'll take it off," She carefully yanked the clasp off, loosening the rest of the pieces. Celestia helped, pulling the arm pieces off Yasuhiro and tossing them away. It took several minutes, but eventually Yasuhiro was freed.

"This costume perfectly fits him though, you know?" Aoi pointed out.

"In other words, nobody else but him could have made this." Celestia added.

"I didn't make this at all!" He protested.

"Then why did I find blueprints in your room?"

"I saw them too," Makoto said, and Byakuya nodded.

"So it really _was_ Hagakure-san who attacked everyone!" Aoi accused.

"I think we should hogtie him to prevent anything else from happening," Celestia put in.

"T-Tie me up?!" Yasuhiro cried.

"We're not tying anyone up!" Makoto shook his head.

"He may be our prime suspect, but he still deserves a chance to defend himself," Kyoko scolded.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty confused right now," Yasuhiro said.

"Save your excuses!" Aoi snapped. "It's obvious it was you!"

"No way! I don't know what's going on, but I can say that whatever it is, I'm being framed for it!"

"Nobody else can fit into this costume!"

"You won't know until you try!"

"Fine!" Aoi then stormed over and and started pulling the costume on, gasping a bit. "I-It's so heavy...!"

Celestia just tittered in amusement.

"I can't even see my feet!" She tried to reach around for the other leg only to start wobbling around. She flailed her arms around. "How'd you walk around like this?!" She managed to steady herself slightly before nearly falling over again. She huffed and tried to bend over to grab the leg before pouting. "And I can't even bend over in it, see? That's a huge design flaw!"

"Harsh!" Yasuhiro scolded. Celestia tittered more and stared at him.

"What?"

"N-Nothing! I was just going with the flow, you know? I didn't actually design it!"

"Either way...this just proves our point! Only Hagakure-san could've worn this!" Aoi quickly pulled the costume off and threw the pieces on the ground.

"Well, maybe it just didn't fit you because you're a girl! If another guy tries it-"

"Put it on, Naegi," Byakuya ordered, and Makoto very reluctantly tried slipping the arms on only to sigh.

"These aren't even the same length as mine...I can't fit in either," He pulled it off.

"See? That is all the evidence you could possibly need," Celestia smiled.

"No, there has to be more than this! Maybe someone else made another costume that looks like this and he's your culprit!" Yasuhiro accused, making her look over at him.

"You cannot say such a thing without evidence, you know. If you indeed wish to claim that, you must find evidence supporting it. For example, find this other costume and bring it to us," She played with her hair.

"But, but..!"

"On that subject, it seems pretty suspicious how both Hagakure-kun and Kirigiri-san appeared at the same time, is it not? It almost makes one wonder what she was doing," She said directly to Makoto. If she sowed seeds of discourse over Kyoko's whereabouts, she'd have no defense during the trial. She'd get executed and so would everyone else, leaving her to be free! Besides, it was for the greater good. Kyoko was a thorn in her side, always parading around and acting like she was better than everyone else. She needed to be taken down a peg. She dealt with Sayaka, Chihiro, and Aoi. Kyoko was the only person left who thought she was better.

"I don't know...she's been nothing but helpful ever since we've gotten here," Makoto said, making her giggle.

"And that is how you know she's working for the Mastermind. She makes you trust her and sows seeds of hope and trust into your heart. Someone like that cannot be trusted,"

"I'm not sure..."

"You seem to stick up for her a lot. Such blind love will get you killed one day," She placed a hand on her stomach, and Makoto left her alone.

^*^

Aoi headed back up to the crime scene, finding Genocide Jack gone but Sakura still there. Well, Aoi supposed she couldn't have been surprised with that. She was surprised Genocide Jack even agreed in the first place instead of just randomly bolting. She remained quiet for a while, feeling her stomach roil around which made her take a deep breath and stand up straighter.

"Is thee alright?" Sakura asked, and Aoi nodded rapidly.

"Yeah...physically. I'm still upset over what happened earlier..."

"I think we all are, in some shape or form. Everyone grieves differently, Asahina-chan, never forget that,"

Aoi's mind was more focused on the conversation she had in the bathroom with Celestia earlier. She had no clue why she chose to confide in her; them both being pregnant had nothing to do with it. Celestia was crafty and Aoi was finally starting to learn that. She thought she did such a good job of hiding her discovery from everyone; it was even her secret for crying out loud, and yet somehow Celestia figured it out. Supposedly because she was also pregnant, but....

Aoi didn't want to cast doubt on anyone, even someone like Celestia. She claimed she was wearing a corset to hide the bump, and besides, she ate all kinds of weird things that Aoi herself was starting to crave. And besides, her nausea and random bouts of illness....

The timing seemed right. Their second day there, she playfully asked Yasuhiro if she could spend the night with him, half-expecting him to say no. He accepted and one thing led to another. It wasn't meant to be anything long-term and Aoi figured they were both in agreement on that. When she came to him almost a week ago with the news though...he didn't take it well to say the least. He joked about it and claimed no responsibility. Embarrassed and hurt, Aoi decided to shut him off as well. He was an idiot and she was a fool for not realizing that earlier. Her sudden harshness towards him lately was well-deserved and warranted, she felt, and she found she was glad that nobody else questioned her about it.

And the thought he could possibly be a murderer? He was stupid but also desperate. A guy like him probably had all kinds of financial trouble he wouldn't think twice about settling. And that's what he did. And the Class Trial would get him, get him good, and expose him to all the rest! It was only a matter of time before the others saw her point of view.

Well, she supposed Celestia found him guilty too, but the less she thought about Celestia, the better. It made a dull core of nausea burn in her stomach that brought waves of queasiness to her.

Speaking of which...

"Come on," Makoto tried to smile in an encouraging way to her, but Aoi felt that whatever her attempt was just made her look strained. She followed after Kyoko and Makoto and Sakura to the elevator, where Celestia and Yasuhiro already were.

"You're going to pay for this! Everything that you did!" She suddenly snapped at him.

"Give me a break! I didn't even do anything!"

"Speaking of which, did you ever find that note or costume?" Celestia asked curiously, giggling when he sighed in defeat. "Well then, that just makes our jobs even easier. This trial shall be over the moment it begins,"

Once everyone else arrived, it was into the elevator and down into the depths of the school. Perhaps it was just her lingering dizziness, but Aoi swore it went down even further than it did the last time, and the second time it had gone down further than the first time. Just how many floors did this school have?! She caught Yasuhiro giving her a look of pleading and she turned her nose up and looked away from him. Pleading wouldn't work on her today!

^*^

Celestia subtly gasped to herself when she beheld the courtroom's new appearance; lace and decadence and ornamental. Exactly how one would expect an old-fashioned manor to look in the mid-nineteenth-century.

Monokuma surely knew then, right? No. He'd have no way of knowing...except for the security cameras...oh damn it. Celestia would just have to pin the blame on everyone but herself, which would surely be an easy task. Almost everyone seemed to suspect Yasuhiro already, which was her plan. A few seemed to suspect Kyoko, which was even better. She calmly took her place beside Byakuya and waited for the rest to file in.

Perfect, they were already accusing Yasuhiro and arguing with him over it. All she had to do was chime in here and there with her own testimonies to make it seem more real, and then everyone else would get executed and she'd be free. Marvelous.

As they talked, she wondered if her child would want one of those little crib-skirts she read about in one of those parenting magazines. They looked adorable and would look nicer with some handmade lace added on the bottom. She was fond of a light pink or sunny yellow, maybe even a pastel purple. Should the nursery in general be a pastel purple? Yes, it should be.

"The dolly was in the art-room. Your memory is just failing you. Why would a dolly used for specifically moving art projects be in the physics room?" She demanded suddenly, staring Makoto down.

"The trail going through the blood, plus the blood on the tires!" He answered, making her click her tongue at him. Stupid fool, not carefully checking every single aspect of the crime scene and thus leaving behind crucial evidence. She genuinely hoped he was burning in Hell somewhere.

If her baby's nursrey was to be lavender, then her room should be a much darker and mature colour, perhaps a burgundy wine or mature black. It was only fitting for her, after all, the woman and mistress of the house and almost an adult herself. She didn't need childish colours like pastels anymore. She knew it was usually left to the servants to decorate, but she'd be damned if any of her butlers are going anywhere near her child. Her baby was a part of her too, and if she ever intended to erase the father's influence, her child would need to be around her as much as possible.

...She had to admit, Hifumi used far too much blood when he faked his death. It was almost sickening and if she wasn't as far along as she was, she probably would've vomited like Aoi had.

....

Celestia didn't really like her extensions, they were a huge pain to constantly care for. Her goal was to naturally grow her hair out and hopefully get it to be as long as Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary's hair. It was her pride and joy and her most famous feature. Painters came from all around just to get a portrait of her holding her long and heavy hair in her hands. It reportly took her several hours and two maids to do her hair every morning and she had to wear specially-made pins in it.

"Only Kirigiri-san and Hagakure-kun are missing alibis. Therefore, either of them could have moved the bodies," She added, looking away.

"What now, Kirigiri-san?" Makoto asked nervously.

"So far this whole trial has been about trying to figure out who did it. Rather, I think we should be asking ourselves how they did it. More answers lie there," She said, glancing over at Celestia. She just glared right back, unmoving. If Kyoko thought she could just stare and stare and silently goad the culprit into confessing like she did the last two times...she had another thing coming! Celestia Ludenberg was used to people staring at her and thus being made to work under pressure.

...So they learned Hifumi was not just a hapless victim but one of the perpetrators. It was a shame he was already dead, otherwise she would've liked to see the look on his face when they finally put that piece together.

"That means whoever killed Yamada-kun...was the true culprit who betrayed him and made him their accomplice!" Aoi exclaimed, and Celestia scoffed and played with her hair.

"Nonsense. I do not think this case had an accomplice. After all, Monokuma-san was very frank with the rules and told us an accomplice gains nothing. Therefore, there wasn't one and you should perish the thought," She placed a hand on her stomach.

"Normally that'd be true, but in this case, two crimes were comitted," Kyoko added. "There's a possbility the true culprit convinced Yamada-kun to commit murder and thus he killed Ishimaru-kun. He lost his escape route and was forced to help the culprit with their plan,"

"Betraying Yamada was likely the plan from the very beginning," Byakuya said.

"That's horrible!" Aoi gasped.

"Really? I think it's a very solid plan, if only the choice in accomplice were a bit better,"

You are correct about that,

"If we add everything up together, there's only one possible person it could be..." Makoto pointed at her. "You, Celes-san,"

She gasped. "Oh my, have I done something to arouse your suspiscion?" She smiled a bit. "I sincerely hope you are just joking. I have done nothing wrong,"

"A joke?" Byakuya pressed. Celestia just crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I have done nothing wrong. I suppose everyone thinks I worked with Yamada-kun to carry this plan out...me, working with him?" She smiled more. "As if I'd ever fucking consider the idea! He's a lazy, worthless, gutless coward with literal shit-for-brains! I'd never be caught dead around him!" She snapped before suddenly clearing her throat. "Pardon moi, I lost a little bit of my cool there. I promise it will not happen again,"

"We have evidence though. Only you two ever saw this supposed costumed madman, and none of us ever did," Byakuya continued.

Celestia just remained silent. If she remained silent, she wouldn't lose her composure and accidentally reveal something. Maybe if she remained silent, they'd all start accusing someone else...

"It's not a picture of Yamada-kun being dragged away, it's the opposite." Kyoko said, making Celestia tightly grab the ends of her skirt.

"That is utterly ridiculoius. How about you just shut your mouth?" Kyoko was a prying wench who needed to be disposed of as quickly as possible. She should've tried to pin more evidence on her earlier on, then maybe they wouldn't even be having this conversation... "If the person inside the suit was knocked-out, then why are they standing straight-up? If they were asleep, they'd be slumped over,"

"But you can't bend over in the suit, remember? Asahina-san tried and she couldn't," Makoto reminded everyone.

"Yeah!" She smiled.

"I think it was designed that way on purpose just to specifically take that picture," Kyoko smirked, making Celestia grimace.

Smirk all she wants, she hasn't won anything. Just because the ball was in her court meant nothing! Celestia could still win this, she could! She had won countless games when she was on the very verge of being defeated, she could easily do it again!

"The two of them designed the suit, then placed Hagakure-kun in it and took that picture together!" Makoto said.

Celestia grimaced more.

"And that, I do believe, is checkmate," Byakuya smirked.

Checkmate.....

Checkmate....

Checkmate....?

No, she wouldn't lose her cool, not here, not in front of everyone else. They didn't deserve to see her at such a low point. Instead, she simply smiled sweetly.

"No, I do not believe I have been placed in even check. After all, this whole time you have been hellbent on making me out to be the culprit, when there's one thing you all have already forgotten," Her smile widened more and she giggled. "What Yamada-kun told us as he was dying. He specifically said Yasuhiro...which could only mean Hagakure Yasuhiro. Nobody else,"

"But could the Yasuhiro he was referring to be Hagakure-kun? Or someone else?" Kyoko said.

That bitch. "For once, I think I speak for everyone when I say you would be better off being burned alive,"

"What makes you think that?" Makoto asked.

"How did he refer to us?" Kyoko continued. "He only referred to us using our last names and a formal title."

"Yeah!"

"He called me Lady Kirigiri....Lord Ishimaru...if he was trying to name Hagakure-san, he would've said Lord Hagakure, but instead he said Tak Yasuhiro,"

"I-It was a mere coincidence!" Celestia pouted. "He was dying, after all, and forgot the title and just by chance said....basically gibberish in front of his name,"

"That's quite a convenient event for you then. He was clearly trying to name his attacker, but wasn't able to. Thus, all we know is they have the last name of Yasuhiro,"

"But there is no-one here named that," Sakura commented.

"No, there's one person...Celes-san, you never told anyone your real name," Makoto stared her down, making her nearly bite her lip just to keep her smile look natural.

" _P-Pardon moi?_ I cannot believe this...you will take baseless accusations as far as this...I have done nothing wrong, yet you all continue to antagonize me like this..." She placed her hands on her chest.

"What is your real name? It's not your alias. Tell us and we can end this," Kyoko suddenly demanded.

"It is Celestia Ludenberg....nothing else. If you're trying to make me admit something, then you have sadly failed. My name is Celestia Ludenberg!" She continued to smile sweetly despite how nauseous she suddenly felt.

"How long are you going to keep this ruse up?" Byakuya asked.

"It is not a ruse...it is the truth..." She sighed. "And none of you have any way to prove me wrong, so the truth it shall remain,"

"How about our E-Handbooks? When they're booted up, they show the owner's real name. If you have nothing to hide, then show us yours," Kyoko smirked.

"T-That's an invasion of my privacy!" She snapped. "I won't allow you to do such a thing!"

"Then why don't you start telling us the truth?"

"I have played far harder games than this. Therefore it is in my nature to never, ever give up. Even when the odds are stacked against me, because....because, because, because, because, because...until the game ends, you never know what'll happen! So why should I just give up now? You have nothing to pin on me, you have no evidence! I'm the only one laughing at the moment!"

"Then let's put everything together, shall we?"

....She had to listen to Makoto and Kyoko carefully piece together her crime and unravel all of its complexities right in front of her. It was nearly too much for her to bare, and much to her surprise, when it was all over, she felt tears start to streak down her face.

"Celes-san?!" Aoi asked in surprise.

"I lost....when was the last time I ever heard myself say that? It must be years at this point..." She tried to giggle about it, but it sounded choked and bitter.

"Do you think tears will help your cause?" Byakuya demanded, but Celestia shook her head.

"I don't even know why I am sobbing...but goodness, you're awful at comforting women. At the very least, you could start by calling me by my real name, Celestia Ludenberg, or....Yasuhiro Taeko. That'd be alright,"

"So you're just giving up?"

"I'm not the sort of person who's a sore loser. If I've lost, I'll accept it, fair and square," Hearing her own clipped and brisk voice sounded strange to her ears after having gone so long speaking her ridiculous archaic tongue.

"Interesting. You don't look the type,"

"Well, I guess this is it. Monokuma-san, I'm ready," She still tried her hardest to smile even with the tears still freely flowing. She knew why, though she'd never tell the others-pregnancy hormones making a soup out of her emotions. That's what her mother said once.

_"Goodness, I cry at the slightest of things! I blame the babies in me, making a soup out of my emotions! The same will happen to you if you get pregnant, Taeko-chan!"_

They all voted for her and she just crossed her arms in front of her chest. It truly saddened her, and maybe that was the real reason she was crying after all. She did it all for a life, a better life, a new life, a better life for herself and a new one for her baby. She'd never admit it though. Let Kyoko be wrong in one thing; it almost made Celestia smile as she thought about it.

"Working with someone was a mistake after all," She sighed. "Yamada-kun was a fool through-and-through,"

"I'm sure you lied to get him to work with you. He wasn't mean-spirited enough to concoct an actual murder plan," Kyoko stared her down. Celestia wiped some of her tears away.

"I didn't have to lie to him at all," She sighed again. "I used....it. The one thing they both were obsessed with. I hid it away and claimed Ishimaru-kun had stolen it. He played right into my hands....love makes people do crazy things sometimes, as I've said before," She felt Kyoko's eyes on her but ignored her.

"So Yamada made that costume too?" Byakuya asked, and she nodded.

"It was a real pain too...I should have expected as much by making him my accomplice," She rubbed more of her tears away and sniffled, noticing her makeup had been running. Oh no, how dreadfully unflattering.

"Then why'd you decide to make me the culprit?" Yasuhiro demanded.

"Because you are an idiot," She smiled. "Yamada-kun ate up everything I told him. It was almost pathetic in a way. I planned for him to die all along,"

"How could human life mean so little to you?! He was a classmate of ours!" Aoi cried. Celestia looked away. "You're just like Togami-san!"

"I suppose the two of us are quite similar," She played with her hair, feeling more tears coming on. She bit her lip.

"Did you really do this all for money?" Kyoko asked. "Or was there something more?"

"Ever since we found ourselves in this sitation, the one and only thought on my mind had been escape,"

"But you were the one who told us we all had to live here forever and adapt to living here!" Yasuhiro reminded her. She felt something inside her break and the tears flowed rapidly down her face as she grimaced.

"That was a fucking lie! All of what I said was a lie! Those rules I made for everyone? I never followed them myself! You all seemed so complacent with living here, but me? I could never...you all think you were desperate, but you don't know the first thing about being desperate! I'd have killed every single last fucking one of you if I had the chance!" She started to sob harder. "I hated living in this place, more than anyone! It was the worst kind of torture there was! And do you want to know why?"

Everyone waited silently for her to continue speaking, but she found herself having to take several deep breaths first. She sobbed even harder as she thought of the one thing she wanted the most in the world.

"Everything I did....was for the sake of one thing. My dream. And that dream is...to live in a beautiful European castle. I was thinking somewhere in France, or Germany, or Italy, or Scotland. A castle all to myself...and I would be served forever by handsome men from all around the world, the epitome of style and class, all dressed like Victorian butlers...they would be my butlers and my bodyguards both." She thought of it, the image so clear in her head. Black lace and bloodred silk, with her butlers all having foreign and unpronnounable names, with a large nursey in the back in soft rose for her baby. It was a perfect image. "A life full of elegance and decadence...that was all I ever wanted,"

Celestia was still crying, though it was mostly silent by that point. "Everything I earned still wasn't enough...until Monokuma-san offered his amount...that was all I cared about. I pursued my dream up until the very end, so I feel no regrets over it,"

"You still killed your friends over it!" Aoi cried.

"Asking me to feel guilty is a pointless endeavor. I do not feel guilt or remorse. I am not a nice person. I never have been and never will be. Using others for my own gain is what makes me whole," She smiled sweetly.

"But even now....you're about to die for everything! Is that why you're crying? Because you're scared? I thought someone like you wanted to go out with more diginity!"

"I am not crying because I am afraid. Perhaps I am crying out of relief that my life wil soon end and I wanted to die more than anything else. Or perhaps I am crying simply because there's no other way for me to express that I’m truly emotionless. You see, I am such a good liar I fool even myself,"

Makoto looked at her and slowly reached a hand out, but she stepped away from it. She didn't need his comfort or sympathy. She could tell he saw the tears in her eyes still, the pitiful state of her, and it angered her. She didn't want him to comfort her.

"I think I would like to be reincarnated as Marie-Antoinette. Or Tatiana Romanova. Or Empress Elizabeth." She commented.

"You have a thing for tragic nobles," Yasuhiro sighed.

"Speaking of which...Togami-kun," She smiled sweetly, stepping over to him. He winced and tried to step back, but she easily grabbed his hands and held them tightly. "You were truly the only person here I genuinely respected and liked. Perhaps I even harbored a bit of a crush on you. It saddens me that you couldn't be the father of my child, that you couldn't be my husband, that now we must part on such circumstances,"

"What are you going on about?" He demanded, and she squeezed his hands and easily slipped the key to Alter-Ego in them. His eyes widened and she stepped away with another sweet smile. Her tears were all dried up, and she curtsied daintily.

" _Au reviour,_ everyone. I hope we all will meet again in another life. I don't know if my words will give anyone hope, but...at the very least...oh, nevermind. Okay, let's go, Monokuma-san," She nodded at him, and the silver collar snapped around her neck and pulled her out of the room. She folded her hands up politely and smiled at her classmates as she heard the crackle of flames surround her.

Being burned at the stake. How Gothic and romantic, fitting for her. She didn't cry or tremble or show any outward fear. She wasn't lying to them when she said she wasn't afraid, for she wasn't. At the time, her tears were brought on by pregnancy hormones and stress. Nothing more, nothing less. She then thought darkly that she was going to be burned alive with a newborn inside of her, how truly horrid. It was really something out of a Gothic novel then. She continued to smile at her classmates, even when everything went dark for her when she was hit unceremoniously with a firetruck.

She had felt nothing.

^*^

The classless wench gave him the key to something, what was it? He had slipped it into his pocket because Kyoko gave him a fierce look when he thought about pulling away from Celestia, but that didn't answer his questions.

"Another domino got knocked down...soon all of you will fall, abandoning hope for despair!" Monokuma chuckled before leaving them.

"What did she give me?" Byakuya demanded once Monokuma was silent for a while. "It's a key,"

"It's a key to a dressing room locker," Kyoko commented. "Likely the one she hid...it in," She held out her hand for it, but Byakuya ignored her.

"Then there's still one small hope!" Aoi gasped happily.

Everyone headed over to the bathhouse, Byakuya walking in alone with Kyoko following after. "I don't need your help. I'm perfectly capable of opening a locker myself," He huffed.

"I don't trust you," She said simply, standing beside him and watching him slide the key into the locker and flip the door open.

"Oh! Good morning, Master!" Alter-Ego greeted cheerfully.

"Fujisaki made this, huh?" He commented.

"Thank goodness," She seemed to sigh in relief, making him look over at her.

"I did everything Celes-chan asked of me! I stayed quiet and I really did enjoy my big locker! Oh, and I'm almost done with decrypting the files, so please wait a day or two more on that!"

A small smile appeared on her face as she closed the locker, relief evident. It was an expression foreign on her features.

"Just for the record, I suspected you partly throughout the trial," Byakuya commented. She ran a hand through her hair. "You're shifty and sneaky and suspicious. I never liked Celestia either, but at least we both agreed on the fact that you seemingly know too much. Why? What do you hope to accomplish by sneaking around? Several of us believe you're the Mastermind's spy,"

She simply sighed. "I don't trust you enough to disclose such information, but I can tell you I'm on your side. No matter what it may look like, I am..." Kyoko left the room then, giving Byakuya no choice but to put the key back in his pocket and follow after her. The cafeteria was mainly cleared out; Kyoko had whispered something to Makoto before the two left together. Byakuya frowned at that but knew following them would just lead to Kyoko glaring at him again. It seemed to be a favourite pasttime of hers as of late. Not like he personally cared. They could all hate him passionately and it'd mean nothing.

He headed to his room to sleep, hiding the key in his desk drawers. For some reason, Celestia entrusted him with it....actually, no. He knew exactly why she trusted him with it. She fancied herself his celebrity girlfriend and longed to be with him. Every single action she took towards him, ever since they first met, had been with that thought in mind. He didn't know why she couldn't see they came from two completely different worlds. She was a dandette who pretended to be far fancier and classier than she truly was.

And just what was all of that nonsense about wanting him to father her child? She wasn't pregnant at all. He chalked it up to just more wishful thinking; she probably assumed they'd get married and live together in that castle of hers and she'd have a child by him. It likely made sense in her own little world where everything was set in stone.

Well, she was dead. He'd never have to worry about her ever again, which he was very thankful for. He fell asleep after that thought, his resulting dreams not troubled at all, really the only one in the group who could say such a thing.


	19. Interlude: Gossip Forum 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, the public takes to their favourite gossip forum and discuss the latest round of episodes. The stakes keep getting higher but nobody seems too bothered by the fact they're watching actual people kill each other.

_Akiko: plot thickens evermore I see_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I know, everytime I think the stakes can't get higher...they do get higher!_

_Peepz: Been playing catch-up on the show itself but! I come baring secrets! Only a few at the moment but it'll do_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Oh? Do share. Just remember anything super disrespectful will get us in trouble with a Mod_

_steponmeibukimioda: If it's the truth we can't get in trouble we just get in trouble for speculating about eating disorders and stuff_

_Akiko: so while we wait on that thoughts on the episodes guys_

_hotnready: this week was a doozy not gonna lie_

_Cupcake Emily: And for once, I watched it live! I'm so proud!_

_WaffleLover: I'm genuinely sorry to see all three of them go. Then again, looking back, it's pretty clear they were mainly just intended to be 'disposal'_

_Akiko: guess i was right i predicted Celes-san would die and look where we are_

_Peepz: I'm worried about her child though, she was still carrying when she was killed, correct?_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: No, surely Monokuma did something about it_

_steponmeibukimioda: Is it safe to assume that Togami-san and Kirigiri-san are going to make it out?_

_hotnready: i sure hope so_

_WaffleLover: Whoever is left, I think has a good chance of surviving to the end. They're the strongest mentally and didn't fall for the previous motives_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Yeah, I majored in psychology back before all this happened and one thing we're taught is that humans never truly forget their primal desires. Monokuma knew that and tried to appeal to it. The rage of getting attacked, the humiliation of a past secret, the greed of wanting it all. It's really fascinating stuff_

_WaffleLover: At least above it all Naegi-san has prevailed!_

_Peepz: Sorry for the wait, but the secrets I managed to get this time is Asahina-chan is pregnant with Hagakure-san's child, Togami-san participated in a death match with his siblings and was basically just bred for perfection, Kuwata-kun secretly loves playing baseball and only pretended to dislike it, Fujisaki-san had an interest in girls with long hair and big breasts and would always secretly touch himself to fashion magazines of his female classmates, Naegi-san used to wet the bed until he was in fifth grade, and Taeko-san, not only was that her real name, but she grew up in terrible poverty_

_hotnready: damn you really delivered this time_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Yes, you even got some of the dead people!_

_Cupcake Emily: Speaking of which, I found this picture. I can't figure out who it is, does anyone know?  
6838.png_

_Akiko: looks familiar_

_WaffleLover: Oh, see the facial expression? That's Naegi-san's younger sister! I wonder what she's been up to lately_

_Cupcake Emily: Thank you! Isn't she a cutiepie? You think we'll ever get a show about her? You think she's LGBT?_

_steponmeibukimioda: That whole family seems to have the cutiepie genes_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Predictions?_

_hotnready: damn, i cant say_

_Akiko: same, it's like Sayuri Sazumi said everyone left seems to be good_

_Cupcake Emily: Fukawa-san maybe? She's still a target for fear because of Genocide Jack_

_hotnready: nah i feel like if that were to happen it wouldve already_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I'm just so happy Asahina-chan is pregnant...it's all I ever wanted_

_Akiko: yeah but hagakure-san is the father_

_WaffleLover: Okay, so thinking on it, I'm kinda glad Yasuhiro-chan is gone. I mean, she killed two people in cold blood just to live in a castle all her life. Who does that?_

_Peepz: I see where she's coming from. She lived in a bad neighborhood her whole life and even gambling never made enough. Then again, she had loving parents and likely several friends growing up, and she threw them all away because they didn't fit into her dream. But it's like she said, 'i am not a good person and i never will be'_

_hotnready: she wants to be like togami so bad it's almost hilarious_

_Cupcake Emily: I liked that scene in...episode thirteen I think? Where Taeko-san and Naegi-san play Slapjack together. It was genuinely sweet and I wish we got more moments like that out of her_

_Akiko: predictions? did i ever say mine_

_WaffleLover: Yeah, you said you couldn't decide a few days ago_

_Akiko: changed my mind putting money on kirigiri-san_

_steponmeibukimioda: Yeah, you know what? Same_

_hotnready: yeah i like her a lot but togami is hugely suspicious of her and she flat-out said she doesnt trust him enough to tell him what shes been up to_

_Peepz: Maybe that'll change? There's not a lot of people left so maybe it'll be easier to get her to open up_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Anyway, so excited for this next round of episodes! Can't wait! I hope Asahina-chan survives!_

_Akiko: i think at this point we all do_

_Tsuniki:_ **Due to popular demand, we have made separate topics for each individual student! Head over there to discuss in detail all about them! Even if they're dead, they still have an online presence, so dig up all you possibly can about them!**

_WaffleLover: Ooooh, I'm loving the topic names; Aoi 'Mermaid Glitter Queen' Asahina or Kiyotaka 'What's Pop Culture, Something You Eat' Ishimaru haha_

_Peepz: Thanks, I helped come up with some of those_

_Akiko: does this mean the main topic will be closed or_

_Tsuniki:_ **Absolutely not, this will remain open as we still need a place in general to discuss theories and whatnot.**

_Cupcake Emily: That's great news then! I'll head on over to Fukawa-san's then!_

_~LoveAndKisses20:~ The links to all of them if anyone needs~  
Sayaka 'Cute Pastel Kawaii Princess' Maizono_

_Mukuro 'Couldn't Get Good Genes, so I Joined the Army Instead' Ikusaba_

_Leon: 'Baseball's Too Hard' Kuwata_

_Chihiro 'Ultimate Herbivore Who's Compensating for Something' Fujisaki_

_Mondo 'I Block Out My Gay Thoughts By Punching Stuff' Oowada_

_Kiyotaka 'What's Pop Culture, Something You Eat?' Ishimaru_

_Hifumi 'I Once sold 1,000 Copies of My Doujin at a Con and I Think That Makes Me Special' Yamada_

_Celestia 'Faked My Wedding, Faked My Family, Faked My Whole Entire Life But I'm Totes Not Lying Guys' Ludenberg_

_Sakura 'Looks Scary, But Has a Maiden's Heart' Oogami_

_Makoto 'Luck isn't Even a Real Talent' Naegi_

_Kyoko 'I Sold My Soul to Attend this Lame School' Kirigiri_

_Byakuya 'Getting Blocked by Me is Almost a Badge of Honour' Togami_

_Touko 'I Write Romance Yet I Still Hate People' Fukawa_

_Yasuhiro 'He Doesn't Even Go Here' Hagakure_

_Aoi 'Mermaid Glitter Queen' Asahina_

_Junko 'Hooray We Reached 100 Topics on You, We Still Hate You, Kill Yourself <3' Enoshima _

_Tsuniki:_ **Since this topic has exceeded 1,000 posts, it will now be locked. Please continue discussing here!**


	20. Chapter 4: Athletic Apologies; Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The seven remaining students get the biggest shock of their lives yet when they arrive at breakfast the morning after Celestia’s execution. Despite the current situation, they are all made to push on in one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person’s POV

Sakura was up early as usual and headed down to the cafeteria, not many thoughts on her mind for once. What was she supposed to say? Celestia-Taeko-she wasn't even sure of what would be a respectful way to refer to the dead-was an enigma to everyone. Sakura would've befriended her if she wished, but Celestia never let anyone close to her. The moment she shed tears during her trial was the first and only time Sakura's heart hurt for her. Hifumi and Kiyotaka were classmates she didn't spend much time around, but they were good people. Sakura could tell even despite their alienating personalities. Some people were just different. Even despite everything, she found herself unable to truly hate even Celestia. Disagree with her, certainly, but not flat-out hate. 

Everyone else seemed to be in the cafeteria that day, even Byakuya and Touko, which surprised her. Monokuma didn't inform her of any new motive; though after their fight the previous night she assumed he wouldn't have anyway. Something still felt off about the image, and when she walked closer it became immediately obvious what it was. 

"Sakura-chan!" Aoi called her over. On top of the main table they used for breakfast was an ornate pink basket filled with fluffy pink blankets. Sakura couldn't quell the unease she felt as she peeked inside and found a newborn inside; all dressed in a vintage pink ensemble as frilly as the basket she was in. And surely the infant was a girl; why else all the pink? "Do you know anything about this?" 

"No." She answered truthfully. 

"I expect some answers out of _someone_ over this. This is a joke, isn't it?" Byakuya demanded. 

"There's a note attached to her ankle," Kyoko pointed out, gently holding the newborn still and untying it. She then read: "'Hello! My name is Megumi! A pleasure to meet you! I am the daughter of Celestia Ludenberg/Yasuhiro Taeko and Fujisaki Chihiro! Since my parents are literal deadbeats, I need someone to care for me. I am only a week old. Please take good care of me!' That's what it says," 

"That's what she meant." Makoto gasped. 

"So her baby wasn't killed when she got executed?" Aoi questioned. 

"You guys are awfully accepting of this. Do you think I'm going to do this? No. You can't make me care for someone else's mistake," Byakuya huffed. 

"Togami-kun!" Makoto scolded. "You can't say that!" 

"Indeed, he can't!" Monokuma's voice came over the speaker. "In case you're wondering, this has nothing to do with our fun little game. However she's grown too much for me alone to care for, and thus I thought you seven would make perfect replacement parents. She's indeed a mistake and if I could make her parents pay, I would. But alas we don't live in a perfect world," 

"Yeah, no. I'm not doing this," Byakuya turned on his heel and left. 

"I-I agree. E-Even if I wanted to...s-she'd..." Touko left as well, not elaborating. 

"Yeah, I kinda agree. I mean, how do we know Celes-chi won't come back as an ubume and curse us all or something?!" Yasuhiro freaked. 

"That's only if she's pregnant!" Aoi snapped. 

"No, it can happen if they've just given birth too!" 

"I cannot believe this. You guys would really rather let a helpless infant die than split the work?" Monokuma chuckled. "You truly _are_ perfect for a Killing Game!" 

"I mean....it's too weird. Fujisaki-kun and Celes-san...they both died within a few weeks of each other. They're our friends...it feels wrong," Aoi pouted. "I don't mean anything bad by it, but..." Her and Yasuhiro left the room together, leaving only Makoto, Kyoko, and Sakura. 

"I don't care what they or Monokuma say. I'll take care of her. It's the right thing to do," Makoto instantly spoke up. 

"I agree," Kyoko nodded. "She's a helpless newborn and I'm positive if she died on our hands, Monokuma would have a heyday punishing us for it," 

"I shall help as well," Sakura said. "Her parents may have had issues of their own, but we should not blame the child for the sins of their parents. If we nurture her well, she will turn out fine," She took a better look at the newborn and found her awake, with small curls of elegant black hair and bright hazel eyes. She scrunched up her face and began crying loudly. 

"She's hungry," Kyoko commented and came back with a pink bottle decorated with butterflies. Immediately, she pulled Megumi from the basket and held her close in her arms, checking the bottle before feeding it to her. Megumi drank happily, her eyes wide. "There's a bunch of bottles in the back of the fridge. I assume they're from Celes-san. The big problem with that is after they're gone, we'll have to rely on formula," 

"Do we have baby stuff here? I mean, she'll need bottles and a crib and clothes and diapers..." Makoto trailed off. 

"I assume Monokuma has provided, we likely just have to look for them. Perhaps he put them in the school store," Sakura suggested. Monokuma was cruel, but somehow she couldn't imagine him leaving them to fend for themselves without proper baby supplies. Everything was a game to him, and what fun was a game if you didn't give the players the right stuff? 

"I don't think I'll ever get used to her name," 

"Yes, Monokuma likely named her as such to mock her parents. And us too," Kyoko kept looking at Megumi as she drank. "I'm positive Celes-san didn't name her that herself. She'd likely name her something pompous. And Fujisaki-kun probably would've picked something cute," 

Sakura looked at Makoto, who despite trying to get food for himself was staring at his tray with a sullen expression on his face. "Something wrong?" She couldn't help asking. Well, there was plenty that could be wrong, but she wanted to hear it from him personally. 

"Huh? Oh, nothing's wrong! I'm just...overwhelmed, I guess," He laughed awkwardly. She nodded, though she felt as though he was lying. Kyoko stared at him for a while until Megumi finished her bottle. She gave a gentle rub to her back until she burped, then wrapped her back up in the soft blankets. 

"I'm sure that even despite this, we'll have a new floor to explore," Kyoko reminded them. 

"Right! Uh, do we just carry her around? Wait, does she count as a student? Are there eight of us now?!" Makoto asked. 

"I'm sure she has a basket specifically for us to carry around. At least until we can find a baby monitor," Sakura said. "As for your other question...I don't know. The things Monokuma does rarely make sense to us," 

The three of them ate in silence after that, Megumi letting out a coo once before she fell asleep. 

"It just feels lonely here without the others....I hope they'll help us out later," Makoto sighed. 

"I am sure they will. Asahina-chan has a good heart. I am sure she's just feeling overwhelmed by everything." She reassured him, as she knew it was the truth. Even she herself was feeling overwhelmed by everything, but she also knew that no matter how anxious she felt, Megumi was probably feeling much more so. She was a literal newborn, after all. Makoto nodded in agreement but mainly picked at his food. 

Once they finished eating, Sakura easily picked the basket up and kept it close to her body, making sure she didn't jostle it roughly by accident and startle Megumi. The three decided to split up and search the school differently, running into Aoi and Yasuhiro again when they left the cafeteria. 

"Did you change your minds?" Kyoko asked, but Aoi shook her head. 

"I tried to go back to my room but I'm really hungry...I just want to eat until I drop! Doughnuts and fish! Oh, what about ramen with a big stick of butter in it?" She drooled eagerly. 

"Dude, that stuff will make you sicker than it'd make you full!" Yasuhiro gasped. 

"So? My cravings are out of control," 

"We just finished eating and were going to explore the next level. Did you want to join us afterwards?" Kyoko asked, and the two nodded. 

"Why not? I'm feeling good today! I divined myself last night that there will be no more murders after this!" Yasuhiro announced. 

"How predictable is it?" Sakura couldn't help herself from asking curiously. 

"About twenty or thirty percent accurate!" 

"You can't even decide on a number, how is it meant to be trusted? It's just like all that other supernatural nonsense!" Aoi sighed. 

"Don't lump my talent in with that!" 

"It's not supernatural then?" 

"Anyway, I hope your prediction comes true," Makoto cut in, smiling. 

"Well, one thing's for sure. You'll never catch me killing anyone!" Yasuhiro announced proudly. The remainder of the group all nodded in agreement, and Sakura believed them. After all, despite their faults, they were all good people at heart. She even trusted someone like Kyoko when she said she wouldn't kill. Someone willing to take care of a newborn that wasn't even theirs when they weren't even required to had to have some kind of a good heart, right? 

"I only wish Fukawa-san and Togami-san chose to stay with us," Sakura finally spoke up. She meant it; even as Aoi and Yasuhiro declined and stated they were glad they weren't there due to their selfishness. She simply stole another glance at the baby basket, where Megumi was still fast asleep. She hoped even Touko and Byakuya would come around and care for the child, for she was everyone's responsibility then. She knew they could, they would just take longer than Aoi or Yasuhiro would. She thought even they were good people deep down. 

Once the trio left the cafeteria, Sakura nodded at them. "First things first, check the school store to see if Monokuma left us baby items," She directed, and Kyoko and Makoto both nodded in understanding and headed off in that direction. 

Inside the actual store, everything seemed to look exactly the same, except a small area had been cleared out and decorated in pink with plastic butterflies everywhere. Sakura found a basket filled with pastel baby dresses with matching booties and bows. A lot to last for several weeks, but of course, what did a baby care how much her clothes changed? Only the frivolous parents would. Makoto found a plastic bag filled with baby toys and a crib that still needed to be built. Kyoko found a diaper bag filled with changing things and other items related to the baby's health and well-being, as well as a stack of pastel cloth diapers that resembled little bloomers; enough to last several weeks. 

"If they're cloth, that's a benefit because we can wash them and reuse them. Our materials are limited enough as it is," She pointed out. 

Sakura nodded. "You two continue looking upstairs, I shall take these items to my room for now. We can think up a more permanent schedule later," The two nodded and walked off together, and Sakura made good on her word, placing the diaper bag and diapers in her bathroom and the dresses in her closet. The toys and crib remained next to her desk. Megumi still slept soundly inside her basket. It made sense, according to Monokuma, she was only a week old, and Sakura didn't think he was lying. The timing was right; she was completely unsure of the conception date but clearly Celestia was in her ninth month already. She could've given birth before her scheme and resulting execution and Monokuma just kept it a secret from her until after her death. Clearly Celestia had some sort of knowledge though, and Monokuma cared for her for a few days before dumping her on the remaining members. Babies did a lot of sleeping in their first few weeks of life, so Sakura anticipaited this baby would be very much the same. 

Basket still in-hand, Sakura climbed up the stairs and found herself in a room that smelled strongly of various chemicals. Aoi had beaten her there already, looking through the cabinet. Sakura surmised the place to be some sort of chemistry lab and decided not to spend long there; the smell was strong even for her and she knew it wasn't safe to keep an infant in such a place for long. 

"Sakura-chan! Have you seen? This place has all kinds of vitamin supplements! And amino acids! And really poweful protein additives too!" Aoi gasped happily, pointing them out. 

"Really? That is indeed good news then," Sakura smiled back at her. "It seems so long since we were able to have protein shakes. Our supply in the cafeteria ran out a while ago," 

"I know!" 

Makoto arrived and questioned the two, agreeing to take Megumi's basket off Sakura's hands for protection. He gasped a bit at the sudden weight but seemed to carry it just fine, which Sakura made sure of. After he was gone, Aoi made herself busy again with looking through the cabinets. She gasped a bit when she opened the third door. 

"What is it?" 

"This rack is full of different poisons! You don't think...?" 

"Well, this was originally a chemistry classroom. One can conduct many experiments that aren't inherently harmful even with harmful ingredients," 

"True, but..." 

Sakura stared her down. "I do not think thee has to worry about another murder. Everyone who is left are good people. Even Fukawa-san and Togami-san, despite their natures, care about themselves way more. They wouldn't do anything to harm themselves this far in," 

Aoi nodded slowly and simply closed the cabinet door. Sakura knew there was something else troubling her but left it alone. It could've been about the recent deaths, about the baby, about their situation, about pretty much anything. Sakura wanted to know but knew better than to pry, especially when it came to Aoi. If Aoi wanted something to be known, she'd say it. Simple as that. 

"We should head back to the cafeteria. The others are likely done with their own investigation work," Sakura coaxed, and Aoi nodded again and followed after her, walking back down to the stairs to the cafeteria. Kyoko and Yasuhiro were already there, and just a minute or two later, Makoto arrived, pink basket in tow with the squirmy infant. He gently placed it on top of the table and everyone began their reports. 

"On the fourth floor, there's a chemistry lab with cabinets filled with all kinds of medicines and supplments. Everything we could possibly ask for!" Aoi began. 

"Anything for babies?" Kyoko asked. 

"Cherry teddy-bear-shaped suckers for sore throats," 

"Only you and Ogre seem like you'd get the most excited over something like that," Yasuhiro pointed out. 

"Well, there's bad stuff in there too...lots of poisons and dangerous chemicals," 

"They're all labeled quite clearly and put away from the non-lethal bottles, so one isn't likely to grab one even in a rush," Sakura reassured everyone. 

"Yeah, but we should probably keep it a secret from...the other two. Just in case," 

"Oh yeah..." Yasuhiro sighed. 

"Togami-kun is likely to find it himself anyway," Kyoko reminded them. 

Megumi began crying loudly again before Yasuhiro could say his spiel, making Aoi gasp. 

"She's so loud...!" 

Kyoko had picked her up in an instant, placing her on her shoulder and gently rubbing her back. Megumi still cried in spite of it. 

"Is she hungry? Tired?" Makoto asked, but Kyoko shook her head. 

"Sometimes babies cry just to cry," 

Yasuhiro sighed and spoke louder over her tears. "There were lots of empty classrooms on the fourth floor, but two rooms were locked, the data-processing room and the Headmaster's office," 

"Oh, there's probably lots of clues in there!" Aoi smiled happily. "If we could find some way to get in..." 

"We can just use Ogre! With her on our side, those doors aren't even locked!" 

_Except I wouldn't be able to break them down,_ Sakura thought to herself. _Not because of physical strength, but simply because of my deal with Monokuma._ She then looked over at Megumi, who was still fussing over Kyoko's shoulder. "Here, let me hold her." 

Kyoko nodded and passed her off, and Sakura held the infant in her arms and rocked her gently. She offered a small smile to her, fully thinking she'd accidentally scare her, but instead, Megumi's cries began to soften as she looked up at her with her vibrant eyes. 

"How are you guys doing with your new bundle of joy?" Monokuma's voice came over the speaker system again. "It's hard being a teenage parent, isn't it? I suppose that's why abortion is such a popular form of birth control. I'm sure you ladies are considering it now, huh?" 

"What do you want?" Kyoko sighed. 

"I really didn't want to do this, especially since you all have a child to support, but...this school is my pride and joy. I can't have you running around trying to destroy it and break everything I worked hard on. Therefore, I'm making a new rule that you are forbidden from breaking down any doors," They waited to see if there would be more, but there wasn't. 

"If he made a rule about it, then it means we are all correct and there's something hidden in the Headmaster's office," Even Sakura herself had no clue what Monokuma could be trying to hide; he was the sort of person who enjoyed being cryptically vague. He only ever told her what she needed to know concerning her classmates but very little about himself. The sheer fact she hadn't known about Megumi's existence until that morning was proof enough of that. "There are also steel plates on all windows on the fourth floor, though I doubt we'd have an easy time escaping from there even if there weren't," 

"Kirigiri-san?" Makoto tried, but she glanced away from him. "Kirigiri-san?" 

"She's angry, isn't she? You made her angry, didn't you?" Aoi demanded. 

"Regardless....we hardly learned anything," Yasuhiro sighed. "No way out or anything useful..." 

"Well...I _did_ manage to find another picture...remember the other two I found?" Makoto asked, and Sakura nodded. 

One of Leon and Sayaka together, and then another one of Leon, Mondo, and Chihiro together. 

"I found another one," 

"Huh? Another one?" Aoi asked curiously. 

"Yeah, this one was of Maizono-san, Celes-san, and Yamada-kun. Maizono-san was laughing, and Yamada-kun was celebrating with false eyelashes on. Celes-san was trying to take them back from him in annoyance. They looked so carefree and happy...just like all the other ones..."

Monokuma planned for them to find them, Sakura was sure. She could forgive one and pass it off as an accident or negligence, but not three. They were something they were meant to find. 

"It could just be another fake!" Yasuhiro declared. 

"What if it isn't though? What if-" 

"So you trust Monokuma over your dead friends?" Kyoko stared Makoto down. "You're a hypocrite," 

"You freak out too easily. They're just fakes! Easy as that," Yasuhiro suggested. 

"It is likely just a distraction method used to confuse us. I think it would be wise to just ignore it," Sakura offered to Makoto, who nodded. 

"Maybe you're right..." 

She looked down at Megumi and saw she had stopped crying completely and was instead looking around the room. She gently placed her back in her basket when Byakuya walked into the room, looking proud. 

"You all look so forlorn, it's almost disgusting to look at you," He smirked. 

"Just leave us alone! What makes you think we want you around if you're going to mock us?!" Aoi snapped. 

"Because I came across some interesting information earlier when I was taking a bath. I do a lot of thinking, you know," 

"You mean...?" Kyoko trailed off. 

"In that case, we should all go take a bath!" Makoto announced, jumping up from his seat. 

"Yeah! As friends!" Aoi smiled. Sakura picked the basket up and followed the class, making Byakuya scoff. 

"You can just leave her in the cafeteria, nobody will steal her," 

"I am not going to leave a newborn alone by herself," Sakura said, and upon arrival to the bathhouse, simply set the basket down on one of the benches. Touko kneeled in front of the laptop, looking away from everyone else. 

"Can you please move? We need to use the computer," Makoto asked politely, but Touko scoffed. 

"N-No...I need to wait here. Togami told me to, told me he was going to bring the others but first I had to sit and wait," 

"We're all here now," 

"Maybe if you begged me for it..." 

"U-Uh-" 

Kyoko walked over and delivered a stern look to Touko, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Move, Fukawa-san. What I say takes precedence over whatever Togami-kun told you," 

Touko gasped and grumbled, stepping away from the computer. 

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" Yasuhiro asked in surprise. Kyoko just ran a hand through her hair. 

"Hello, everyone! I already told Togami-kun earlier, but I finally finished decrpyting the files!" Alter-Ego announced happily. 

"I figured that's what it was," Kyoko commented. 

"It makes me nervous though...to think about what could possibly be on them," Aoi said. 

Makoto started to type something on the laptop, but Kyoko easily pushed him out of the way and started typing something herself. Sakura thought Kyoko was unusually agitated that day, but said nothing on the subject. Once she finished typing, she leaned back slightly. 

"From what I could tell, the school was in the middle of carrying out a project...where all of the current students would live inside the school and isolate themselves from society. Likely for the rest of their lives," Alter-Ego started, making Sakura widen her eyes. 

"The very same siutation we find ourselves in right now..." 

"It was started by the administration office of Hope's Peak itself. Evidently a few years ago there was a terrible incident known as The Tragedy. It was terrible in the scope and scale of it, and as a result, Hope's Peak was forced to shut down as a school." 

Kyoko put it all together. "Because of an event known as The Tragedy, Hope's Peak closed and was instead used to shelter students from the world and isolate them." 

"But why'd the school do it to us?" Aoi asked. 

"What was the Tragedy?" Sakura asked as well. 

"And just how long ago was a few years?" Makoto finished, and Kyoko quickly typed out their questions. 

Alter-Ego pouted. "I'm sorry....that's all I was able to figure out," 

"No way! There's gotta be more than that!" Yasuhiro cried. 

"Well....I...did manage to learn something else. Something possibly related to the Mastermind," 

**Do you know who it is?** Kyoko's fingers flew across the keyboard. 

"The person who organized this plan in the first place was the Headmaster...a man likely in his early forties and still in the school, probably," 

"It makes sense! Monokuma calls himself the Headmaster too!" Aoi gasped. 

"Which makes the office even more suspicious," Sakura said. 

"Yeah but we're dead if we even try thinking about breaking the door down," Yasuhiro sighed. 

Kyoko grimaced and clenched her hands into fists suddenly. "The Headmaster...?" 

"Kirigiri-san? Are you alright?" Aoi asked in concern, making her shake her head. 

"Something about him...seems...familiar..." She shook her head again. "But that's not important at the moment. Let's see if Alter-Ego found out anything else," She typed her question in, but Alter-Ego shook its head. 

"No...despite this laptop's age I got everything I could out of it but that's it....I'm sorry," It glanced down, looking ready to cry. "Ummm...but I had two questions for you guys...if that's alright?" 

**Sure.** Kyoko typed. 

"I haven't seen Celes-san, Yamada-kun, or Ishimaru-kun at all since yesterday...what happened?" 

**They're all dead.**

"O-Oh....I'm sorry...I shouldn't depress myself thinking of such things, but....I was hoping it wasn't true when I thought of it," Alter-Ego managed to recompose itself and looked around the room, its eyes settling on the pink basket. "What's in that? I've never seen it before," 

**A newborn. That's a baby human. She needs all of our care and attention right now. She's the daughter of Fujisaki-kun and Celes-san,**

"I sure hope Alter-Ego's not going to ask us the details of _that_ ," Yasuhiro sighed. 

Alter-Ego's eyes lit up. "R-Really?! Master...had a child? A little bit like me, huh? May I please see her?" 

Kyoko nodded and scooped Megumi up, gently holding her up for the monitor. Megumi squirmed a bit in response but cooed at the bright light, trying to reach out her hand to touch it. 

"She's so cute! She has Master's eyes," 

Kyoko held the baby up for a minute more, letting Alter-Ego coo all over her for as long as it pleased, then put Megumi back in her basket. 

"I'm happy that...something of Master and Celes-san gets to live on. I think he'd be happy to know something like this happened," 

"We're done here," Kyoko nodded, typing it into the computer, making Alter-Ego gasp in surprise and then pout. 

"Oh, r-right...I served my purpose..." It pouted further. "I guess I'll just rest up since I feel pretty tired...good night," The computer then put itself into sleep mode automatically. 

"We learned everything we could, huh?" Sakura asked in disbelief. She had the feeling there was more to the story, way more than Alter-Ego was able to find out. At least Alter-Ego received some sort of reward in the end in the form of a...she supposed it could be considered a sister in the loosest sense of the word. Still, it would be enough for it, she supposed, and that was enough for Alter-Ego. 

"I feel bad for him though," Aoi sighed. 

"Why? It's just a computer program," Yasuhiro said. 

"Well yeah, but he's just done so much for us," 

"Do you thank your computer every night on a job well done?" 

"No, but Alter-Ego just feels different somehow," 

"I get it. If you think about it, there's really no way to define the differences between humans and computer programs, so there's no reason why we can't consider Alter-Ego our friend too," Makoto suggested, and Aoi smiled. 

"Yeah! It's our friend!" 

"I don't think you should carelessly toss that word around," Kyoko stared him down again. 

"Let us not get off-topic and continue discussing the matter at hand, what Alter-Ego told us," Sakura steered them all back on-topic, knowing Kyoko and Makoto would likely exchange back-and-forths with each other for a while and they didn't have the time for that. 

"Yeah, why's the staff trying to make us kill each other?! What's their plan!?" Yasuhiro cried. 

"Alter-Ego mentioned a historical tragedy that happened several years ago. It was likely the cause of all this," 

"Several years ago...there were lots of possible events in that time span. Anyone got anything?" Makoto asked, but Sakura shook her head. 

"I am unable to think of anything," Several events came to her mind, certainly, but they weren't major enough to warrant an entire school closing down. Aoi and Yasuhiro shrugged as well. 

"It likely involved the school in some way, seeing as how it closed down," Kyoko said. 

"Maybe a bunch of students got massacred!" Yasuhiro announced. 

"No, I think if something like that happened, we would've known," Sakura shook her head. 

"What if there was a cover-up?" Aoi suggested, and Sakura nodded. 

"Perhaps. It seems plausible," 

"It wouldn't surprise me. What is the government doing nowadays!?" Yasuhiro said. 

"We just have to find the Headmaster. He'll be able to tell us everything...he will," Kyoko seemed agitated again, which made Sakura wonder if Kyoko knew something about the Headmaster. Not Monokuma, the real one that was in charge of the school before. She had an image of an outing with some of the other girls, and Kyoko arriving in a printed housedress, citing 'he' bought it for her. Who was 'he'? Sakura couldn't conjure the image up anymore. 

"Anyway, I think we're finished here," Makoto announced, and everyone else nodded in agreement. As if on cue, Megumi started loudly crying again, making Touko grumble. 

"B-Babies...are so annoying when they cry," She stormed out of the room, her promise to Byakuya seemingly forgotten. Makoto put the laptop back in the locker and Kyoko picked the basket up, all of them leaving the bathhouse. 

The bell chimed for nighttime, making Kyoko glance up in surprise. "I guess it's time for bed...Celes-san proposed the curfew, but she's gone now. What do you guys want to do?" 

"According to her, that was bogus anyway," Yasuhiro sighed. 

"Still, I'd feel safer knowing people weren't wandering around at night," Aoi commented, and Yasuhiro nodded. 

"Same here," 

"Then we'll keep it going. The only exception should be for care related to the baby," Kyoko headed into the kitchen and started feeding her, following Sakura back to her room. 

"I have the crib in here. I think I should keep her for tonight, then Kirigiri-san for tomorrow, then Naegi-kun the next night. Then we'll go like that. If anyone else decides to help, we shall add them in," Sakura suggested, and the two nodded. Kyoko sat on Sakura's bed and continued feeding Megumi, who drank happily. Sakura and Makoto set to working on the crib; it wasn't hard for her but more tedious. Once they were finished, they ended up with a white crib decorated in pink butterflies and a lacy crib-skirt. "It has wheels, so it will be very easy for us to wheel it around into our rooms at night," She demonstrated. 

"That's good..I'd hate having to lug a heavy crib around everywhere," Makoto laughed awkwardly. 

Sakura placed the crib at the foot of her bed and placed the various other baby things on her desk. Kyoko finished feeding her and burped her, swaddling her up warmly in her crib. Her and Makoto then left, shutting the door. Sakura got herself ready for bed, seeing Megumi starting to fall asleep. She smiled warmly and got in her bed. 

The same questions were swirling around in her head just as much as anyone else's, and she had no answers. What was the Tragedy, how long ago was it, why did the school close as a result, and what part did the Headmaster play in all this? 

After waking up once in the middle of the night for another feeding, she slept, knowing the answers would come to her one way or another.


	21. Chapter 4: Athletic Apologies; Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise from both the baby and Monokuma revealing the spy was Sakura all along. Kyoko tries with vain to understand Touko's apparent fascination with trailing her, but Touko won't budge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^*^ denotes a change in POV
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person's POV

Kyoko woke up early and headed to Sakura's room, finding her door closed but unlocked. She walked in silently and wheeled the crib out, placing it at the foot of her own bed, then moved the baby supplies in there as well. She changed Megumi and dressed her in a violet ensemble, gently tying her curls back with a matching bow. It was a little bit like dressing a baby doll. She held Megumi in her arms, letting the infant look at her. She cooed curiously.

What had Makoto so rattled the previous day? She asked him quite bluntly and despite his great amount of trust in her, he flat-out refused to tell her. It annoyed her, to say the very least. To constantly preach about trust and friendship, yet refuse to tell her something obviously important?

Megumi cooed again and Kyoko gently swaddled her up in the basket, carrying it to the cafeteria, where the usual group already was, along with Touko. She placed the basket on the table and went to get a bottle for the baby.

"What are you doing here? You usually avoid coming to breakfast," Makoto was asking when she came back.

"Are you saying the mere sight of me is so terrible you lose your appetite looking at me? Then just don't look at me!" Touko cried.

"It's been several weeks since you joined us last, Fukawa-san. I think that's what he meant purely," Sakura said.

"B-Because...Togami told told me that eating is the only thing I'm good at, s-so I came here...I'm going to prove him right by eating as much as I possibly can! I'm going to shovel food into my mouth! I'm going to make myself so large I'll be incapacitated and need him to take care of me!" She snickered strangely.

"You're on! I bet I'll outeat you!" Aoi announced.

"Don't. That's upsetting," Kyoko burped Megumi and placed her back in the basket. "I don't have an appetite anymore," She picked the basket up and made a bowl of cottage cheese, walking out of the cafeteria. She had the smallest of appetites, she just couldn't stomach the thought of eating so close to Makoto. If he didn't want to tell her what had upset him, fine by her. So be it. She'd just give him the cold shoulder until he was ready to confess. She walked down the halls until she reached the third floor, sitting across from the bathrooms with her back against the wall. She placed the basket beside her and started to eat, sighing.

Faint memories of it being served with dumplings approached her; fuzzy and fleeting. Something about having a cultured experience. It didn't make her sick like it likely made her peers. She continued to eat silently, listening to Megumi coo and kick her legs around in the basket.

Once she finished, she headed downstairs and put the bowl in the kitchen sink, rinsing it out slightly. There were never more than a few dishes at a time kept in the sink. When did the Mastermind have time to do them all? When did they have time to take out the trash, to clean the bathrooms, mop the floors, and do anything else that needed to be done in terms of upkeep? And surely it was the Mastermind, as she never saw any of her classmates cleaning or repairing anything.

At least the Mastermind cared enough to make sure they weren't living in filth and refuse and kept the water and power on; the food was always fresh and if anything was even one day past the due date, it was speedily removed before the next mealtime.

Megumi started to fuss loudly from her basket and Kyoko sat down at a nearby table and gently lifted her up, gently bouncing her. "What's wrong?" She frowned; she was just fed and her diaper was dry. Megumi continued to fuss, getting louder. "What's wrong?"

"Kirigiri-san?" Makoto poked his head into the cafeteria, but she ignored him. He walked over just when Megumi's cries softened suddenly and she let out a tiny cough before spitting-up all over herself and Kyoko's front. He gasped and Kyoko widened her eyes, holding Megumi away from her. The infant still fussed quietly, but it was noticeably weaker.

"She must've had an air bubble or something," Kyoko sighed, dignified as always. The spit-up smelled like milk. She looked over at Makoto. "I need to shower to get this off me. Would you like to give her a bath? Newborns need gentle sponge-baths and the parts you're not washing need to be wrapped warmly in a towel because they get cold very easily. You also need to keep a towel wrapped around her crotch at all times,"

He blushed and laughed awkwardly at that. "I don't really think I should bathe her or change her diaper. I think it'd be kinda disrespectful to her father, you know? Like I'm making fun of him or something..."

She stared him down before gently placing Megumi back in the basket. "Fine, I'll bathe her myself."

"Ki-"

She ignored him and got a pink basin from the kitchen, also getting some dry towels and washcloths from the laundry-room as well as a bucket of lukewarm water. She placed it all in her bathroom and quickly checked the school store, finding a pink display set up near the other baby items of various baby shampoos and soaps. She took a bar and a bottle and headed back to her room, carefully filling the basin up and gently stripping Megumi down. The baby fussed and squirmed but didn't put up much of a fight. She wrapped her in a towel and gently settled her down in the water, taking the large sponge and carefully running it along the length of her body. Megumi squirmed but stopped fussing, but still didn't look very pleased about being in the water. Kyoko couldn't stop a small smile from coming to her face at the sight.

"Moody just like your mother, huh?" She teased, keeping a hand firmly on the baby as she scrubbed her chest. "But you have your father's eyes. I think when you grow up, you'll end up being more like him than like her,"

Megumi cooed happily, as if she understood everything Kyoko had said. Perhaps in some way, she had. Kyoko always believed the most intuitive people were the ones you least expected, and babies always seem to just have a way of knowing things.

She pulled Megumi out of the water and carefully dressed her in pastel blue and placed her back in the basket, softly rocking it until the baby fell asleep. She cleaned up the bathing area, hanging the towel up and placing the bottles in the medicine cabinet, then dumped out the water in the shower. She quickly headed to the laundry room and tossed the dirty baby clothes in, then peeled off her own clothes and tossed them into the washer. She wrapped a dry towel around her nude form; naked except for the gloves on her hands, and took down her braid, running her hands through it and pulling the strands apart. She then headed back to her dorm and left the bathroom door open in case Megumi woke up, dropping her towel and turning the shower on.

It would be a quick shower since she just had spit-up on her, and even then it was mainly on her clothing, but she didn't like the idea of walking around the remainder of the day smelling like milk. It wasn't her fault but it made her feel sloppy anyway. The shower filled with steam and Kyoko sighed as she stood there, glancing down at the floor. Her hair soaked through and several strands stuck to her neck or cheek. The water ran down her thin and plain body in rivulets.

The only question on her mind left concerning the infant was when the conception date happened. She assumed they must've had sex together at least once during their time at the school; it was a reasonable thing to expect when a bunch of teenagers were left alone with no supervision, the cameras be forgotten. Pregnant women were notorious for being horny a lot, so perhaps Celestia bit the bullet and just went with the first man she saw who wouldn't reject her like Byakuya likely had on numerous occasions. And yes, Celestia was obviously pregnant. Eight or nine months; so clearly she hadn't conceived during their month together. When then? Did her and Chihiro know each other prior? Makoto mentioned finding those pictures of everyone, but Celestia and Chihiro were in separate ones from each other. Besides, she was sure one of them would've mentioned it even if only implied. Maybe the father wasn't Chihiro at all but some random man Celestia met while gambling, but that didn't fit her character. Besides, Kyoko knew the shape and colour of his eyes; only _he_ had them. _He_ was the father plain as day. Celestia was the mother.

There was something she was missing; she had a headache but she knew that was a clear sign. She placed her head against the shower wall and sighed, feeling warm from the heated water.

 _If people are watching this like he's alluded to...even if it's just him watching this all alone...I hope this view has satisfied him,_ Kyoko suddenly thought without a hint of bitterness. She glanced up and gingerly ran her hands down her breasts and squeezed some water out of her hair, bending down. She put her hands on her knees. A chime sounded loudly and she heard Monokuma's voice on the speaker from her bedroom, making her pause and turn serious.

"Everyone, it is nearly nighttime, but before we all get settled in for bed, please report to the gym. I have a very special announcement I need to make!"

It must've been another motive. A bit early in the week for one, but perhaps Monokuma was just growing bored especially with only seven people left. No way he was calling them down for just a chat.

Even more serious, Kyoko shut the water off and dried herself off in a rush, braiding her wet hair tightly and slipping into an outfit identical to her dirty one, turning the lights off and grabbing Megumi's basket. She hadn't done the best job of drying herself off so she left drops where-ever she walked, but there wasn't time to worry about that. Besides, it was just a few drops and not large, full-fledged puddles.

She arrived in the gym and spotted Yasuhiro and Byakuya already there, standing away from each other. She set the basket down and gently picked Megumi up, gently bouncing her up and down in her arms because she had woken up and started fussing.

"Did you _have_ to bring her?" Byakuya demanded, looking over at her.

"You can't leave a newborn by themselves," Kyoko shot back, placing Megumi on her shoulder and gently rubbing her back to try and quiet her fusses.

Everyone else filed in after that, and almost instantly, Monokuma's voice filled the gym from the speaker systems.

"Nice to see everyone is here, as usual," She could feel eyes on her even though nobody was glancing over. She patted Megumi's back, sensing she was about to begin fussing louder.

"Cut to the chase, I'm getting a headache. You called us here to entice us with another motive, haven't you?" Byakuya asked.

"A-Again?!" Touko cried.

"No! Haven't you done enough?"! Aoi demanded.

"Yeah! Just let us have some time to ourselves!" Yasuhiro added.

"No, it's nothing like that. Instead, I want to clear up a grudge I've held towards you all. Clear it up and explain away some misunderstandings, I should say. Yes, it's a bit early in the week, but better sooner than later, am I right?" Monokuma started.

"Why do you have a grudge against us?" Kyoko asked, still rubbing Megumi's back. She didn't think about bringing the diaper bag so she had no pacifiers to try and soothe her with. Megumi cried harder.

"Come on, just spit it out already! You might enjoy hearing the sound of crying babies, but no regular human does," Byakuya suddenly snapped.

"Alright, I can take the hint. You may remember what I said a while back about planting a spy in your midst? Well, I'll tell you who it is. Oogami Sakura-chan!" Monokuma snickered.

"W-What? You're just saying that with no fanfare?!" Makoto asked in disbelief.

"What?!" Byakuya's eyes widened.

"No, you're just lying to try and get a rise out of us! Sakura-chan isn't your stupid spy! Isn't that right?" Aoi demanded, looking over at her. Sakura remained silent, making Aoi's face fall slightly. "Sakura....-chan?"

"Now then, I think it's time you made good on your promise to me, Sakura-chan! If not, then those hostages of yours will be in trouble! And as for the rest of you, have fun dealing with her! Kill her in any way that you please, I don't care! Surely this new revelation will have boiled the blood of _one_ of you enough..." Monokuma snickered more. "Goodbye and good night!"

The room erupted in confusion and disbelief once Monokuma signed off.

"He's lying, right? Ogre doesn't really work for him, right?" Yasuhiro cried.

"No way! Sakura-chan would never!" Aoi snapped at him. "Stop jumping to conclusions! All Monokuma has ever done for us is make us feel afraid and prompt us with terrible motives! This is just one of them!"

"Yeah...so?" Touko huffed.

"Sakura-chan is too kind of a person for that!"

Kyoko looked over at Sakura. "Tell us the truth. Only you can. Is what Monokuma said true or not?" Megumi continued to cry, and Makoto wandered over.

"Here, let me hold her for a bit," He gingerly took the infant from her arms and softly rocked her, and Megumi's cries lessened as she stared up at Makoto in fascination.

"What he said is true," Sakura spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

"So you admit to it? You willingly worked alongside him?" Byakuya asked.

"No way she did! She was likely just manipulated or something!" Aoi insisted. "He probably threatened her or something!"

"She's right. Monokuma threatened Oogami-san into compliance to work for him," Makoto spoke up, bouncing Megumi softly.

"A-And would you know something like that?!" Touko sneered.

"Because I saw it! Two nights ago, I was trying to head back to my room when I saw her and Monokuma fighting with each other. But she said she wasn't going to listen to him anymore," Makoto bounced on the soles of his shoes.

"So you're saying we can trust her now, huh? Is that it?" Byakuya demanded. "I don't believe it for a second. For all we know, she could've just faked it all and is still working for the Mastermind even now,"

"Yeah, we can't trust her so easily," Yasuhiro said.

"She's not like that! She defected!" Aoi insisted.

"Oh? Then tell us who the Mastermind is, Oogami. To prove you truly have defected," Byakuya demanded, but Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I am terribly sorry. I don't know that,"

"Just as I suspected," He sighed. "What did the Mastermind ask you to do?"

"...Partake in a murder. That is what he told me to do," Sakura said softly.

The fact that no murders had been committed by her clearly meant whatever requirements needed to happen...hadn't. Perhaps Sakura was meant to get the ball rolling so to speak if nothing happened within a certain amount of time.

"Sakura-chan..." Aoi looked horrified and disappointed both.

"I am terribly sorry. Multiple times I thought of confessing to thee, but I was afraid thou would hate me and see me in a different light. I refuse to allow conflict to start over me. That is why to atone for what I have done, I shall do battle with the Mastermind personally, even if it ends my life as well,"

"N-No...you can't! Not on top of everything else!"

Sakura just walked away from everyone else, the bell chiming out afterwards.

"Well, I heard all I needed to hear." Byakuya started to leave smugly.

"Finally, we can leave...I-I hate the sobbing of infants," Touko grumbled.

"So you've said," Yasuhiro sighed.

"Wait, you can't just leave like that! We still need to-!" Aoi cried out before Byakuya turned to face her.

"Need to what? Everything is perfectly clear. Not even you knew of her true nature,"

"Yeah, but still! Why doesn't anyone think it through from her perspective?! You all are too quick to judge her!"

"Arguing over it aimlessly serves no purpose. We should all just go to bed and cool down," Kyoko quickly suggested, taking Megumi from Makoto. Thankfully the baby's cries had died down slightly, though she still looked positively miserable.

"B-But..." Aoi sobbed, darting from the room suddenly. Yasuhiro and Touko soon followed, leaving just her and Makoto alone. She looked over at him, catching the expression in his eyes. She just flipped her hair at him and walked off, not wanting to deal with him at the moment either.

She had a vague suspicion that Sakura's secret was what he refused to tell her about, but Kyoko wouldn't pry. Makoto had done a good enough job already of keeping stuff from her, she could just wait until he was ready. Kyoko carried Megumi into her bedroom, changing and feeding her before tucking her into her crib, giving her a pacifier. She watched her carefully as the newborn sucked blissfully on the pacifier and fell asleep within a minute, making her sigh.

She never claimed to be any expert on babies; but she felt it was pretty obvious that babies responded according to their environment. Babies could sense high stress and tension in a room and often fussed to the point of difficult comforting. Such stress could also make the mother give birth early. A situation like their current one would be terrible for a child to grow up in. She would've smiled at the irony if she wasn't so irritated and worn-out.

Kyoko collapsed into her bed, too exhausted to puzzle anything else out.

^*^

Makoto woke up before the morning announcement; he knew he had because the cafeteria was still closed and the school in general was dark. No bustle from the other students. Knowing it was too late to go back to sleep anyway, he climbed out of bed and headed to Kyoko's room, silently stepping in and wheeling the crib out, taking the baby supplies with him. He sighed once he rolled the crib over beside his bed and soft cries filled the room, indicating he wasn't the only early bird in the school after all. He made a bottle and gently scooped Megumi up, cradling her close to his stomach and feeding her after checking the bottle's temperature. He remembered a tiny bit from watching his parents care for Komaru as a baby and hoped he was doing it all correctly. Megumi watched him carefully as she drank the bottle, and once it was all gone, Makoto burped her softly, gasping when she spit-up a little. Luckily it was just on her mouth, so with a giggle, he carefully wiped it off with a washcloth.

"You're a happy baby, aren't you?" Makoto asked with a smile as he dressed Megumi in a sunny yellow ensemble. "I just wish...your parents got to see you. They would've loved to take care of you...feed you, dress you, play with you..." He held Megumi close to him and felt her squirm around. "Monokuma probably expects our grief to get in the way of caring for you, but he has another thing coming. Even if Kirigiri-san and Oogami-san find it too much to handle, I'll always take care of you. I promise that. You're one of us now, and we're in this together,"

Megumi cooed and started to fall asleep again, so Makoto put a pacifier in her mouth and bundled her up in her basket. He was thankful she wasn't as fussy as she was the previous day and hoped that would remain. Having nothing else to do, he kneeled in front of the basket and rocked it gently, watching Megumi sleep peacefully until the morning announcement sounded and he could get up and leave for breakfast.

^*^

Makoto was almost late to breakfast, no doubt because he had to lug that stupid frilly basket around with him constantly. Surely they could just leave the baby alone in someone's bedroom for a while, it wouldn't harm it. It was a newborn, it didn't even know where it was or who anyone was. It was ridiculous that three of them were willing to trip over themselves practically just so the baby of two dead students was happy. She would've just left it to Monokuma if it were up to her.

"Thank goodness you're alright, I thought you got killed or something," Yasuhiro explained.

"I'm fine, but why is Togami-kun here? He hasn't joined us for breakfast in forever," Makoto motioned over to him as he put the basket on the table.

"I'm taking refuge to protect myself from the Mastermind's spy," He smirked.

"You mean Oogami-san?!"

"Do you know of another?"

"Speaking of which, where is she?"

"I don't know. If she was here, do you think I'd be?"

"Stop treating her like a bad person! You don't even know anything about her!" Aoi chimed in in annoyance. "All anyone has done is insult her and doubt her when she's done nothing to warrant that!"

"Her presence is incredibly unfair to the game. In a game, everyone needs to have a fair advantage and her being the lackey of the Mastermind is decidedly unfair,"

"That's what you're worried about?!"

"The stakes are our lives,"

"I don't care, you're being stupid and unfair!"

"Instead of arguing endlessly over it, why don't we try thinking this through slowly? Why do you think the Mastermind chose to give her up?" Kyoko cut in, making Touko instantly glance over at her.

"Thank goodness...I was getting a headache..." Aoi had done nothing but antagonize basically everyone she came across ever since the reveal and it was annoying Touko. She didn't even care about the current situation much, she just needed to stop hearing people argue endlessly. Kyoko had stood up then, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her braid was as tightly wound as ever, her colours nicely monochrome. Her current colour scheme reminded Touko of something, but she wasn't sure what.

"Isn't it obvious? He's mad at her for something and thus got back at her by revealing her status!" Aoi huffed.

"Perhaps, but I don't think that was the only reason. I bet this is part of his motive; making us all doubt and judge each other, which leads to fighting, which leads to us taking the others down. And yet, do you plan to continue on?"

"No, but...how am I supposed to get everyone to trust her?"

"I'd trust her in a heartbeat if she actually managed to take the Mastermind down or something," Yasuhiro chimed in.

"No way, she couldn't! Something bad might happen to her if she tried,"

"And? I say that's a good thing. One less person on the Mastermind's side. We'll all finally have some peace-of-mind," Byakuya laughed. "A good thing for me, at the very least,"

Aoi's fists clenched and she rushed at him; a loud resounding smack echoed through the cafeteria.

"You're a horrible person!" She cried. "You're a terrible and disgusting monster! Talk like that should get you killed! You should just die!"

Touko anxiously tugged on her braids as the baby woke up and started crying from the noise. Kyoko held her in her arms and gently bounced her to soothe her.

"Y-You're surprisingly good at that...were you a broodmother or something in a past life?" She jabbed anyway, blushing. She didn't wish to admit she found the sight of Kyoko calming a baby to be.....more attractive than it should've been.

"She's only upset because of the tension," Kyoko looked down at the bundle.

" _I_ should be the one to die? _I deserve_ to die?" Byakuya was carrying on. "Try it then. Try and kill me. You are certainly allowed to do so,"

"What makes you think I won't?" Aoi demanded.

"Stop!" Makoto tried calling out.

"Oogami-san wouldn't want you to fight over her, but in doing this, you're playing directly into the Mastermind's hands. They want us to fight and argue and carry on like this, growing more stressed-out and argumentative. Why can't you see that?" Kyoko said.

"Then...this is all their fault! It's their fault for outing Sakura-chan like this and it's their fault for giving us that stupid baby! Look! You're more concerned about comforting her than any of us!" Aoi trembled, tears in her eyes, and ran from the cafeteria.

"B-Bitch...who cares if she's upset? She can't speak to you like that!" Touko found herself grumbling. Aoi needed to take care of herself.

"She's just hysterical...the one true curse of a woman," Byakuya sighed.

"You don't care about emotions, do you?" Kyoko glared at him. "That will come back to haunt you one day, you know. Never thinking about anyone else but yourself,"

"Thank you for your advice, I shall do my best to not follow it,"

"So, what do you guys say we get some breakfast? Or not?" Yasuhiro chuckled wearily, and everyone just left the cafeteria and went in different directions. Touko found herself subtly following after Kyoko again, who had headed to the library and sat down at one of the tables, still bouncing Megumi.

"Sssssh, it's alright. Everything is quiet now...you can settle..." She shushed the baby, pressing it close to her chest. "And I know you're watching me. Come out,"

Touko jumped and slowly wandered into the light, looking away. "What makes you think I want to watch you get drooled on by a baby? I came in here to get references," She huffed. "I don't care about you,"

"You've been following me around for the past few weeks," Kyoko offered a smile to the infant before placing her back in the basket. "Tell me why. I originally pegged your interest as Togami, but that's evidently not true,"

"Why do you care? You're just going to laugh at me and call me a fat gross dyke! You don't care about me at all!" She pointed a finger at Kyoko and turned to run, going deeper into the maze of bookshelves. She panted and yanked on her braids. Kyoko wouldn't actually follow her because she cared too much about being glued to the hip of that stupid baby-

"I'm not going to laugh at you and I'm not going to tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about," With her colourings, she almost blended into the shadows. Touko sneered at her.

"Leave me alone...you don't actually care,"

Kyoko stared at her for a while longer before leaving, likely taking the basket with her. Her steps were silent and thus Touko waited a few minutes before emerging out of the library and looking both ways down the hall. Nobody was there. Perfect. She got a few books just so her story weighed some merit and headed back to her room, tossing them all on her desk.

Kyoko infuriated her, even more than Byakuya did. At least Byakuya just ignored her and didn't pay much attention to her trailing him. Kyoko, though, she always needed to know everything about everyone. Touko had stopped wearing a few shirts under her uniform and the first person who mentioned it was her. She bet she knew about her illicit crush. She chewed on her thumbnail.

Did Kyoko like her back? She kinda wished she did; not because then it wouldn't be one-sided anymore but because that would make her a lesbian too! A major one, even more major than Touko herself, because at least Touko has some semblance of femininity to her figure. Kyoko had none. She was an ugly, boyish lesbian. She was a dyke just like Touko was!

As she started to write, she found her memories randomly travel to when she was younger and several classmates of hers were thinking about getting boyfriends. Touko found the idea of boys never appealed to her much and shyly asked her parents one day after school what would happen if she brought home a girlfriend instead. Her parents had freaked-out and her British mom had tried to drown her in the bathtub that very same night, while her other mother cried in her father's arms, saying there was no way she had given birth to such an ugly, disobedient dyke. She couldn't have been the child of such a beautiful, well-behaved Japanese woman who did everything that was expected. Her British mom then left to argue with her, saying she was too perfect to have a daughter like Touko too. They left Touko in the tub and it was only due to a random stroke of luck that she was able to pull herself back out, shivering and dripping and soaked.

She wondered if Kyoko ever had anything like that happen to her. Unlikely, Kyoko probably had the perfect family life. Why else is she so unconcerned and nosy about everything? People who were given everything in life always ended up being snooty and pompous and know-it-all. They thought they could fix everyone just by being nice. Well, joke's on Kyoko. Touko would never fall for her schemes! Never, ever! She hated her!

Touko tried to channel that anger into her writing, but ended up slamming the pencil down so hard on the paper that it broke. With a groan, she threw it aside and started getting ready for bed, not really knowing or caring what time it was. And if she woke up early, then so what? She could wander aimlessly around the school. Nobody else would care or even think to stop her.

She was obviously the least-favourite one of the remaining bunch.


	22. Chapter 4: Athletic Apologies; Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoi has to deal with the consequences of everyone seemingly turning against each other and Sakura's plan to give the Mastermind what they truly want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this also took a while, for a while I was badly stuck on this chapter's trial. I will admit even though I really like Sakura as a character, the fourth chapter as a whole in the game is very...middle of the road-ish to me. Hence why it's the shortest in this fic aside from the opening prologue. Also I'm determined to start updating this story a lot more regularly; my usual weekly schedule now that my funk is gone. Like I've said before I really want to retell THH! 
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV 
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person's POV

Aoi had woken up a few times in the night to throw up; because she couldn't flush her toilet yet the scent grew stronger and made her feel sicker. Wasn't it called 'morning-sickness' anyway? So why was hers at night? She sighed when she heard the morning announcement, looking at herself in the mirror and trying to make herself look as presentable as possible and not like she spent a good chunk of her night with her head in the toilet. Did Celestia have it bad? Aoi doubted Celestia would admit to it even if it were true.

Heading down for breakfast, the only people currently there were Yasuhiro and Touko, which made her frown. The two people she wanted to see the least, bar Byakuya. Why couldn't Makoto or Sakura be there and make her feel better? Even Kyoko would be better even if she did carry the baby around with her everywhere. She shouldn't be so harsh on the baby though....if things were different, if the baby were different...she'd take care of it. She'd love to take care of a child of her classmates, just...not like this. Not like this.

"I'm surprised you showed," Touko grumbled from her seat when Aoi took hers.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? I'm always here at breakfast," She asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I was just expecting you to go on a hunger-strike or something. You can't trust Oogami either, I can see it in your eyes. You t-two may be f-friends, but friendship means nothing to a spy! S-She could be in her room right now, plotting w-ways to get rid of you!"

"Sakura-chan is not planning on killing me, or anyone for that matter! She's just as confused and scared about this whole situation as us, and you constantly accusing her is doing nothing to help her!"

"S-She's just got you fooled," Touko smirked. "Oogami c-can't be trusted, someone as beefy as her just thinks purely in terms of her muscles and not willpower. She's basically just a female Oowada,"

"Stop it! Sakura-chan is a kind and gentle soul!" Aoi stood up, fuming. She felt her hands clench into fists.

"Prove it," Touko stood up too, still smirking. Aoi rushed at her, hearing something on the table clatter as it fell over. She didn't pay much attention to it at first, wanting to slap Touko, but once she advanced on her, Touko sneezed and pinned her to the table, smirking. "Oh my, your breasts seem to have gotten bigger later! Is it true you really _do_ douse them in milk?!"

"G-Genocide Jack?!" Aoi cried in shock, trying to wrestle out of her grasp. "Let go of me!"

"Why should I? It's not fair that such a busty girl like you gets to get away scot-free with everything, just because you're all super hot and busty!" She tossed Aoi to the floor and cut at her shoulder using her scissors, making Aoi cry out in pain. She managed to sit up and wince, holding the wound. "How's that?"

Yasuhiro let out a scream and Makoto came running in, looking distraught. "Asahina-san?! What happened?!"

Aoi bit her lip. "S-She cut my shoulder..."

"Just tryin' to make things a little more fair!" Genocide Jack laughed.

"Come on, help me pick her up. We have to take her to the infirmary," Makoto was by her side in a second, gently helping her up. Aoi blushed slightly and steadied herself, wincing at the burning in her shoulder. The two boys led her away, gently sitting her down on a stool in the infirmary. She felt a wave of nausea overtake her and covered her mouth, gasping. "Are you alright? Need a bucket?" Makoto asked.

"I'm fine," She tried to reassure him with a weak smile. Yasuhiro dabbed at the wound with a wet cotton ball, making her wince at the burn of the alcohol, while Makoto carefully bandaged it up. Afterwards, she sighed and leaned back slightly.

"What happened?" Makoto asked, and Aoi quickly relayed to him the jist of the fight.

"She was saying such terrible things about her...how could I just sit there and take it? Let it happen?"

Sakura ran in the room then, glancing around at everyone. "Who hurt thee, Aoi-chan?!" She demanded. "I cannot believe this...instead of taking issue with me, the true person at fault, you all take issue with Aoi-chan?! Why?! She has done nothing to you!"

"I-I never said I had a problem with you!" Yasuhiro cried, dashing out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him. Aoi huffed just as Kyoko walked in, looking stern.

"K-Kirigiri-san! Stop Oogami-san!" Makoto cried.

"I do not need to be stopped. The only thing I shall do now is to simply right has been wronged. Farewell," Sakura walked off, making Aoi gasp.

"N-No, wait! Sakura-chan!" She darted after her. "Wait! C-Calm down! I...I want to give you something!"

Sakura stopped and looked back at her, clearly curious. Aoi caught up and shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets.

"This! There was a huge box of it in the storeroom and...I kinda took the whole thing so nobody else could have it.." She giggled a bit awkwardly. "I love the candy so much!" She slipped out a piece from her pocket. "And I wanted you to try a piece! It'll perk you right up!"

She smiled at her and took the candy from her. "Thank you. I shall eat it after lunch. No sense in ruining my appetite," She slipped it into her own pockets and the two walked in silence for a while before they reached an empty classroom. Sakura walked inside and Aoi followed her, curious.

"Sakura-chan?"

"The fact you got injured standing up for me though is...I cannot stand for it. I can take care of myself and hold my own, but for you to get injured in my place is simply unforgivable," Sakura said suddenly. "Everything's my responsibility, and thus I feel as though I should do something. I should speak with those three,"

"B-But they don't like you! That's a bad idea!" Aoi gasped.

"Worry not, I can take care of myself, I mean it. I am simply going to have a discussion with them. Perhaps if they approach me in a calmer manner and actually see what I am trying to do here and who I am, they will see me in a different light,"

"If all three came at you though, you wouldn't be able to-!"

"They are not our enemies, Asahina-chan, rather, they are our friends. We should see them as such," Sakura smiled. "Also, no matter what ultimately results because of this....I ask you to please take care of Megumi-chan, and any other children that might result of this. It's not right to make children suffer, and I know you don't truly despise her. You have good in your heart,"

Aoi sat down on one of the desks, swinging her legs back and forth. She shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets. "Yeah, but...it's really hard. We have to take care of a child on top of everything else..a-and...I...feel...guilty. I should've treated her parents with more respect. Everytime I see her, everytime I look in her eyes, I just see...Fujisaki-kun, and I think of how I made him cry..." She bit her lip and worried the tears were already on their way. Sakura put a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand. Believe me, nobody regrets their deaths more than I. However, we have a second chance in the form of their daughter. If we nourish her, we can not only atone for what we've done but what they've done as well. She can grow up to be a better person," She looked at Aoi then. "I am just looking out for the future. Petty disagreements about things will get you nowhere,"

Aoi nodded slowly. "I-I understand...I'll try my best with Megumi-chan...I swear I will...if nobody else but for you," She put a hand on her stomach, thinking of her own child inside. She was happy the infirmary had pregnancy tests but figured she was when she missed her period and felt sick. That was a sign, wasn't it? And even if she disliked the father for his stupidity and carelessness....the child was still partially her, right? And it wouldn't be right to be upset with it for something it couldn't control. She suddenly wondered if she'd have a daughter and if Megumi would like to play with her as a result when they were older.

And besides, she wasn't completely against Yasuhiro as the father. If he changed basically everything about himself, he'd be decent.

She looked up when she noticed Sakura leaving. "Where are you going?"

"To invite those three. I wish to speak to them before lunch," Sakura looked back at her before leaving. Aoi nodded again and waved, slipping a piece of candy from her pocket. She already gave the other one to Sakura and unwrapped that one, slowly popping it into her mouth. The crunchy texture and sweet flavour exploded in her mouth, and she leaned her head back slightly. She genuinely hoped Sakura would be alright and eventually left the classroom, sticking her hands in her pockets again. Maybe she'd run into Kyoko or Makoto and talk with them. And maybe...just maybe...she'd ask to hold Megumi for a bit. Just a little bit.

=

Shortly before lunch was scheduled to begin, Aoi decided to go check on Sakura. She spent some time jogging around the school and stretching, then thought maybe Sakura would want to walk to lunch with her. With a sudden spring in her step, she headed up to the rec room, peeking inside. "Sakura-chan-!" She felt her heart drop to her knees as she ran inside instead. "S-Sakura-chan! What happened to you? W-Who did this to you?!" She covered her mouth, feeling sick. "I-I'll go get some bandages or something!"

"Wait, Asahina-chan," Sakura called out to her. "I just need to say that...in spite of everything...I am truly glad to have met a friend like you here...you are the best friend I have ever had..."

"W-What's this all of a sudden?" Aoi demanded.

"I just want to...ask one thing of you. Could you please bring me some protein?"

She nodded, already starting to back up. "R-Right! I'll get some right away!" Aoi ran from the rec room as fast she she could, heading up the stairs and bursting into the chemistry lab, her eyes widening slightly at the yellow powder on the ground. "There's so much of it..." She stepped closer and noticed the cabinet opened slightly and the bottle slightly out-of-place, and her eyes widened more. Quick as a flash she dashed back downstairs and tried to throw open the door, tugging on it and realizing it must've been locked. She instead banged on the door, knocking loudly. "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Open the door! Please! I don't want you to leave me here!" She kept kicking and knocking on the door, feeling herself starting to lose her balance. "Take me with you, please! Sakura-chan! You shouldn't have listened to what they said, they're all jerks! Every single one of them! Why'd you have to listen to them?!" She collapsed on the floor and leaned her head against the door, sobbing hard. Her tears dripped onto the floor in front of her. The last thing they ever even said was...Sakura asking her to bring her some protein. And then she locked her out of the room so she wouldn't be able to stop her. Her heart ached and she cried until her head matched.

"It's not fair...why'd you have to leave me alone like this..." She sobbed, rubbing her eyes. She briefly looked up and noticed a small slip of white paper under the door by her feet, and curious, she picked it up. "A note...?" Her eyes then widened and her features darkened. She understood then, why Sakura did what she did and felt the way she did. They drove her into a corner and had all murdered her in a way. She had felt despair because of them, because of them all! She very slowly stood up. They'd all pay for this. They'd all pay!

^*^

Kyoko just sighed and glanced at Makoto once they were left alone. She was still carrying the pink basket with the squirmy infant inside.

"Are you still mad at me?" Makoto asked slowly, looking at her. Kyoko glanced away.

"No...I'm over it. You wanted to tell me about Oogami-san's conflict with Monokuma, but didn't want to upset anyone until you verified the information. That is awfully condescending of you," She glared at him, making him jump. Megumi fussed from her basket slightly and she started searching through the cabinets. "She has a bit of a stomachache,"

"Can you even give newborns medicine?" He questioned.

"It depends on the severity of the illness. Anyone can get sick, you know," Kyoko waited a few minutes before continuing: "It's condescending because it means you don't trust me. It's fine though. I'm not going to dwell on it anymore, because there was something of importance I came to talk to you about," She pulled out a box of medicinal suckers and set the basket down, pulling one out of the box. She wondered if melting it on the stove and putting it in a bottle would retain its properties while also being safe for Megumi to ingest, as newborns couldn't eat suckers properly yet.

"What was it?" Makoto asked curiously as she put the box away.

"I'll show you. First, though," She took the basket and sucker into the kitchen and placed Megumi down on a table in the dining room, turning the oven on and placing a skillet on the fire, gingerly tossing the sucker in.

"H-Hey! Won't that release chemicals into the air?!" Makoto gasped.

"It's just candy. It'll be fine. You can make taffy in a similar way," She twirled the handle around slightly and watched the sucker melt into a sticky red syrup. She quickly turned the stove off and scraped the syrup into a baby bottle, shaking it up slightly and offering it to Megumi. The infant fussed a bit before she drank, silencing. "I was supposed to bring her to Oogami-san when I woke up, but she wasn't in her room and when I finally located her, she suggested I keep an extra eye on her today,"

"She might still be worried about someone like Hagakure-kun or Fukawa-san accidentally hurting or startling Megumi-chan," Makoto suggested. "Once this is all over, she'll take her back,"

Megumi coughed a bit and Kyoko took the bottle from her, gently patting her back.

"I hope your stomach feels better," She whispered before swaddling her up again and picking the basket up. She cleaned the kitchen up and simply walked off, knowing Makoto would follow after her. She led him into the bathhouse and set the basket down again, pulling out the laptop.

"I thought you said we were done with Alter-Ego," Makoto questioned.

"I said its job was done," Kyoko frowned at him. "Besides, it has something it'd like to ask of us," She turned the laptop on and revealed Chihiro's smiling face; braces shimmering.

"Hello! Is it just Kirigiri-san and Naegi-kun?" It asked curiously, and Kyoko leaned over and typed in the message.

 **Do you need more?**

"No, no! Two is plenty! What I need to ask of you is...I need to be brought somewhere where I can connect to the school's network,"

Kyoko felt her eyes widen. **What for?**

"I know you all said my job is done, but...for it to just end like this doesn't sit right with me. I need to find a way to be more useful and learn more information. It's what Master would've wanted...for me to be helpful," Alter-Ego teared up slightly.

"But that's basically suicide! The Mastermind will find out and take the laptop from us," Makoto gasped.

"I know it's risky, but it's something I want to do. I need to uncover the remaining secrets of this academy...and...I know it's weird, but when I think about doing it for you, it gives me a burst of courage! I know it's weird, you're thinking I'm lying or something just because I'm an A.I., but it's true!"

"You remember what you told me about the difference between humans and computers? When I speak to Alter-Ego, I feel as though that line blurs more," Kyoko admitted. "I doubt even Fujisaki-kun himself, the creator of this program, could tell the difference. But one thing's for certain, Alter-Ego is our friend. I don't like the idea of endangering him, but this is something he wants to do. Think about being in his position. Could you possibly just sit around and do nothing while everyone else fought around you?"

"Don't argue over me....this is something I want to do," Alter-Ego affirmed.

"There's one room the Mastermind might not discover if we put him in there...the hidden room. It doesn't have any cameras," She remembered. "No cameras doesn't mean no risk, but...it's our one chance to discover any new leads,"

"Kirigiri-san....let me at least carry Alter-Ego in my clothes. I mean, you have to carry the baby anyway, and we can't put Alter-Ego up your shirt anyway, because you're a girl..." He trailed off, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"I appreciate it. I don't want to get slowed-down," She gave a nod to Alter-Ego and carefully shut its lid, then picked up the baby basket. Makoto shoved the laptop down his shirt, making Alter-Ego giggle.

"That tickles!"

"Ssssh, you can't speak! We're taking you someplace secret, so until you get there, don't say anything!" Makoto whispered desperately.

"Understood." Alter-Ego whirred and seemingly shut itself off.

"If only that command could work on infants," Kyoko mused to herself, motioning to Megumi, who had woken up and was looking around in fascination. She walked over to Makoto. "There was a bundle of cables in the drawers last time I checked, provided the Mastermind didn't take them. That's a good indication that there's likely someplace to hook up to the school's network," She whispered, and Makoto nodded.

"Let's go," She followed closely after him, keeping her steps light. She initially was worried about running into another one of their classmates and started thinking up an excuse only to soon realize her worries were unfounded; their classmates didn't seem to be anywhere around.

Once they approached the bathroom, Kyoko looked down at Megumi and gasped. "I don't believe you. You say those documents just vanished? Ridiculous. Go back and check again!" She shouted firmly, pointing a finger at him. She saw the recognition in his eyes and kept at it. "I shall stand guard right here until you get back!"

"O-Okay, I got it," He hurried inside and Kyoko sighed, pulling a white teddy bear out of the diaper bag and handing it to Megumi, who cooed and started sucking on the ear. Makoto came out a few minutes later, sighing. "He said he wishes luck to us, and that he hopes Megumi-chan grows up into a strong and beautiful woman," He whispered before stepping back. "They truly were all gone, not a trace remains,"

"Really? Well then, I guess that's that. We have no more business here," Kyoko picked the basket up and started to walk off.

"W-Wait! Don't you think you should...I don't know, not be so sudden about leaving?" He asked awkwardly. "I at least want to know your thoughts on the Oogami-san situation,"

"Obviously something's got to give, but the others won't listen. The only thing that can change their minds now is new information. All we can do at the moment is have trust in our friend,"

Makoto nodded, and the two parted ways. Kyoko headed down to the kitchen and got another bottle of milk for Megumi, noticing there were only two left. Soon they'd have to start relying on formula, which was evidently tricky to get the hang of. They also needed some sort of carrier for Megumi; carrying a basket around all of the time was tedious and an accident waiting to happen.

After she fed and burped Megumi, she headed to the school store, finding a small pink holder one placed on their back to carry a baby provided they were swaddled tight enough. Kyoko pulled it off the rack and strapped it to her chest, checking the mirror in the girls' bathroom to make sure Megumi was properly strapped in. The baby cooed as a result and after taking a few steps around the bathroom, it seemed to be strapped tightly and securely. She placed the empty basket in her room and placed a pacifier in Megumi's mouth just as Aoi stepped in, trembling and looking pale.

"K-Kirigiri-chan...y-you...need to...hurry! The rec room!" She poured out, darting off. Kyoko's eyes widened and she turned more serious, nodding and heading over to Makoto's room. She rang his doorbell several times until he answered, yawning.

"K-Kirigiri-san! What's wrong?" He asked in surprise.

"Asahina-chan told me something's happened and we must head to the rec room instantly," She repeated, walking off. Makoto nodded and followed after her.

"U-Uh...m-maybe....we should leave Megumi-chan behind? Surely it's not good for a baby to be around....whatever it is we may find,"

"In our current situation, it's not really something we can change..." She found Aoi standing in front of the door, hurrying over to her.

"Something's wrong with her!" Aoi cried, motioning to the window.

"Oogami-san?! Is she unconscious?" Makoto demanded.

"What happened?" Kyoko looked from him to Aoi.

"I don't know, I just happened to look in the window and I saw Sakura-chan in there. I banged on the door and called for her but she wouldn't answer,"

"How are we going to get in there? The door's locked, and we can't break it down without breaking the rules," Makoto worried.

"The rec room door doesn't have a lock, which means we can break it down. If you can't open it, then something must be pressed up against in from the inside, maybe a chair. The easiest way to go about it would be breaking the window," Kyoko speculated.

"I'll go get something!" Aoi announced before darting off again.

"Kirigiri-san...she's alright in there, isn't she? I mean, it's Oogami-san," Makoto asked worriedly, making Kyoko stare him down. Something told her that Sakura was most certainly dead in there. Megumi squirmed around on her back.

"I found something! A broom in another classroom," Aoi announced, running back. "Someone break it open, hurry!"

"You should do it," Kyoko told Makoto, gesturing to Megumi. Makoto nodded and held the room above his head, slamming it into the window. The glass crashed loudly and sprayed around everywhere, making Kyoko take several steps back for protection. Makoto stuck his arm through the window slowly and groaned, shoving something heavy out of the way slightly, shoving the door open.

"Oogami-san!" He called, throwing the broom down and running inside, kneeling beside her. He checked her pulse and his eyes widened. "O-Oogami-san...?" He stood up. "S-She's dead..."

Aoi gasped, covering her mouth in horror. Kyoko frowned as the announcement played over the speakers.

"I-I...have to go...get the...others..." Aoi finally managed, staggering out of the room. Kyoko heard her gagging, as well as Makoto mumbling something in disbelief beside her, but chose to ignore it. She turned more serious again as she kneeled down and started investigating Sakura's body, trying to pick out a cause of death. The top of her head was badly cut and dried blood caked her hair, but there didn't seem to be much there to indicate she had bled out.

"Uh, maybe I'll take the baby," Makoto started to offer when the others ran inside.

"Oh lookie at that, she's dead!" Genocide Jack laughed.

"What a surprise." Byakuya smirked.

"Yes, that means we'll have to conduct another investigation," Kyoko stood up. "She was killed by one of you,"

"She was killed by one of those three!" Aoi demanded with sudden ferocity.

"That's a bold statement to make without any investigation," Byakuya snapped back.

"I don't need an investigation to know it was one of you! You three hated her the most!"

Kyoko pulled out her E-Handbook when it beeped, seeing the Monokuma File had been updated.

"I do have to say, at least it was her that died. I think we can all rest easy now," Byakuya continued. "I don't have time to sit around and argue though. The game's begun. Who should watch over the crime-scene?"

"I-I'll do it...I want to be near Sakura-chan," Aoi wiped her eyes.

"Are you sure? What about-" Makoto started to ask, but she shook her head at him.

"I'm fine,"

"Who should the second one be?"

Byakuya looked around the room and his eyes landed on her, making her stare back. "Kirigiri. You are nothing but a constant thorn in my side, so this time, you can follow my orders and be a good little girl and stay. Don't you want to play Mommy?"

"Hey-!" Makoto started to protest.

"It's fine," Kyoko interrupted them. "I don't mind staying here." She stood near the corner and felt Megumi squirm around on her back.

"Then it's settled," Byakuya started to say something else, but Aoi huffed.

"I want to say one more thing...you three aren't allowed in this room! I don't want you around Sakura-chan after one of you murdered her! I'll drag you out myself if I have to!" Tears formed in her eyes.

"You cannot forbid me from investigating, my life is at stake here,"

Aoi continued to stare him down.

"Fine, then I offer a proposal. Only I investigate while the other two don't,"

"Come on!" Yasuhiro groaned.

"You wouldn't have been of much help anyway,"

"That's totally fine by me! I vastly prefer fantasizing about my White Knight instead!" Genocide Jack all but drooled.

"Fine, I get the message...even if I didn't do it, it still kinda blows," Yasuhiro sighed.

"I don't want any of you in here...!" Aoi insisted, making Kyoko step over to her.

"I know how you feel right now, but you need to accept Togami-kun's proposal. If we don't find this murderer, all of us will die. Every single one of us," She paused as Megumi started fussing a bit. "Besides, we not only have to find them for our sake, but Oogami-san's too,"

Aoi sniffled. "Fine....just don't lay a hand on Sakura-chan!" She snapped at Byakuya, who smirked.

"As if I'd want to touch that filthy thing,"

"Stop arguing and get on with it," Kyoko took Megumi out of the pack and rocked her gently. "Could I get some food or diapers for her?"

Byakuya just scoffed and ignored her, making Kyoko stare at the back of his head. She gently patted the baby's back.

"This case is going to be hard..." Makoto sighed a bit, wandering around.

"Indeed. The only way into this room through the door that was locked and barricaded. So how did the killer leave and lock the door? It's a classic locked-room mystery,"

"Uh, could you tell me more, please?" He asked, and she nodded and told him as much as she could.

"What type it is may come up in the trial later, but that doesn't change the fact of how difficult this case will be to solve," She finally finished, gently patting Megumi's back. The baby had started fussing harder. "Still, I wonder who could've killed Oogami-san. She's strong in spirit and body both,"

"Caught her by surprise?" Makoto offered.

"I think that could be the only way one could kill her," She tried offering one of her fingers for Megumi to suck on, but Megumi refused and continued crying.

"It's obvious who did it; Fukawa-san, Togami-kun, or Hagakure-kun! They all acted like Sakura-chan was the bad guy!" Aoi cried. "You know I'm right,"

"I can't make a clear decision on that until I finish the investigation," Makoto shook his head.

"Fine. Then let me tell you this. Sakura-chan told all three of them to meet her here in the rec room. This morning after I left the infirmary I went with her and she went off for a while by herself before coming back. She told me she wrote letters to them and slipped the notes under their doors. It said to meet her here before lunch,"

"Could someone please quiet that baby down? I'm getting a headache," Byakuya spoke up in annoyance, glaring straight at Kyoko.

"You told me I wasn't allowed to leave the crime scene, nor get anything for her," She tried to hide her smirk from forming on her face. She carefully strapped Megumi back into her carrier; still crying.

"This looks like a bottle of protein," Makoto pointed out. "It also looks like it came from the chemistry lab. Oogami-san said there was good protein in there, and that it could cure anything,"

"That's hyperbole," Kyoko reminded him.

"I know,"

"Look, there's pieces of glass mixed in from when the window was broken earlier, even under the mug,"

"Is that important?"

"I think it could become a useful clue for later," She winced and grabbed the straps of the carrier as Megumi continued to cry. Aoi and Byakuya remained silent as they conducted their own investigations, and after a while Makoto relayed to her everything he had learned. "Next we have to interview everyone involved. I'm still on guard duty, so sadly I can't go anywhere. You have to," She mused. "But at least you won't have to deal with a crying baby,"

Makoto smiled awkwardly. "I-I'll be back soon!" He ran off. Byakuya left a few seconds later and tossed a pink bag into the room along with the last of the baby bottles, scoffing.

"Tend to her. My ears are ringing,"

Kyoko ignored him and squatted down, holding Megumi in her arms and offering her the bottle, frowning when she wouldn't take it. "Not hungry..." She checked her diaper and found it dry, so next she unzipped the bag and pulled out a stuffed giraffe, sitting on the floor and keeping Megumi supported in her arms. She waved the giraffe around her field of vision, making it wiggle. "I'm a giraffe, I'm a giraffe, I'm cute and have a long neck and eat leaves all day. They make a special home for me in the zoo," She cooed in baby-speak, making Megumi's cries soften.

"S-She's cute..." Aoi's voice reached Kyoko, making her look over. There were still fresh tears in her eyes. "M-May I....hold her...?"

"Sure." Kyoko gently handed her over as Aoi squatted down, revealing her shorts. "Be careful, she's still a bit fussy,"

Aoi nodded and carefully held Megumi, making her suddenly squirm and fuss as she was handed off to someone unfamiliar. She scrunched her face up as Aoi stared down at her. "She's....warm. And small. And cute..."

Kyoko smiled a bit.

"It's like when Yuta was born and I got to hold him...and all I could think was...how heavy he was..." She looked down at the baby and suddenly teared up more. "O-Oh God...!" She handed her back to Kyoko and quickly stood up, retreating to another corner of the room. Kyoko stared curiously but didn't question it; instead, she continued playing with Megumi, waving the giraffe around. Megumi eventually calmed and cooed at the giraffe, reaching her hands up to try and grab it.

"Awww," Makoto smiled at her when he came in, making Kyoko turn serious and look up at him.

"I finally got her to stop crying...how did the interviews go?" He told her what Touko and Yasuhiro had said, making her nod. "I thought over the pieces of evidence you found while you investigated and found some new clues. Go over the crime scene again," She stuffed the giraffe back in the diaper bag and slung it over her shoulder, standing up and gently placing Megumi back in her carrier. The newborn fell asleep shortly after.

"I don't get it...what am I supposed to be looking for?" Makoto asked as he stared at the bottles.

"There's a pattern there. I don't want to unjustly influence your conclusion before the trial begins, so I can't tell you anything else. If you look, you should figure it out," She crossed her arms in front of her chest. They were chess pieces, except the knight and queen were both missing. "Also, there's something I want to do with those bottles. Will you help me conduct an experiment? You pick up those glass shards, even the smallest ones, while I get something from the chemistry lab,"

"Are you sure we really should be messing with the crime scene?"

"It'll be fine, everyone else has already looked around, and Togami-kun has left us to go who knows where. I'll be back," She stepped out of the room, heading for the chemistry lab. She silently stepped up the stairs and peeked into the room, pausing when she saw Byakuya in there, mulling over the bottles in the cabinet. She silently thought her thankfulness for Megumi being asleep as she slipped inside, hiding behind a large cupboard when she saw him begin to turn around. She remained still and kept her eyes on him as he returned his attention to something in his hands.

Kyoko found a large black scale on one of the tables and in one large leap grabbed them and nearly gasped; she bit it back. The scales were heavy and nearly fell to the floor until she put them on her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She silently stepped, pausing and holding her breath as Byakuya put the bottle back in the cupboard. She silently willed for him to not turn around, her heart hammering in her chest. She glanced down and found a large spill of yellow powder with the footprints of someone in it. She was curious and wanted to study them further. Sidestepping, she left the chemistry lab and wandered back down the stairs, sighing.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," She smirked at Makoto as she came back in and set the scales on a table.

"What's the point of this experiment?" He asked, and she continued smirking.

"You'll see," She placed two bottles that were unbroken on either side, making note of how they weighed the same, then did the same for the fragments. The fragments weighed more.

"Now I have to check the body again..." Makoto sighed and held his hands up, simply staring at Sakura's corpse.

"Do you have problems with touching dead bodies?" Kyoko asked bluntly, making him jump. "I figured...I'll do it," She gently placed her hands on the corpse, making him stare.

"H-How'd you get so calm and collected about this?"

She thought of how much she read detective novels and watched black-and-white movies for seemingly no reason and their gruesome, gritty natures. Why did they become such a normal part of her life? Nobody else her age would claim such a weird and specific hobby.

"Maybe I had a past experience where I touched a lot of them," She said to herself before shaking her head. She gently lifted up Sakura's foot. "See this yellow powder on her shoe? That's the first clue. And the wound on top of her head. She wasn't struck once, but twice. There's no blood on her hands either,"

Makoto nodded in understanding and walked over to the magazine rack, pulling out the upside-down one and nearly choking. "T-There's blood on these pages! With something written here...!"

"H-Hey...doesn't that spell out Fukawa-san's name?" Aoi suddenly spoke up. 

"It looks like it, yeah,"

"Then that settles it! She's the killer! We have all the evidence we could possibly need! We've cornered her!" Aoi cried.

"Speaking of which...I saw Togami-kun in the chemistry lab earlier when I went to get the scales. It would've caused too much trouble if he spotted me, so I snuck it out. You might be able to find something out there," Kyoko suggested to Makoto, who nodded and darted off. Aoi rubbed at her eyes and played with her earrings while Megumi began fussing from her carrier. "Hungry?" Kyoko leaned against a wall and pulled the bottle out, holding Megumi in her arms and carefully feeding it to her. Megumi took it instantly and drank hungrily, looking up at her with hazel eyes.

"It's not fair.." Aoi started sobbing again. "Why does Monokuma make us do this and take care of a child on top of everything else?! Why can't he just do it?! Why did there even need to be a child in the first place? Why does she have to look so much like them?!"

Kyoko blinked.

"It's not fair...I should've done more for him...I should've encouraged him or stood up for him or something! Instead I just insulted him and hurt his feelings...and I should've tried to befriended her more than I did...even if she rejected me I would've felt better knowing that I tried..." Tears fell down her face. "Everything that happened was my fault!"

"There wasn't any way of knowing," Kyoko continued to feed Megumi as the bell signaling the end of the investigation sounded. She suddenly found herself immensely curious about infant accommodations during such a vital point in their imprisonment and stood up, still feeding her. Kyoko assumed Monokuma had planned for that as well, as he had planned for seemingly everything else that had happened.

^*^

Aoi attempted to wipe her tears away as she trailed after Kyoko to the elevator, finding everyone else already there. She bit her lip and glanced away from Yasuhiro. "I can't believe you're in a good mood after what you did to Sakura-chan!"

"I didn't kill her! And I'd hardly call this a good mood!" Yasuhiro instantly shot back at her.

"W-Well I didn't do it e-either! You can't pin this on me!" Touko sneered.

"I can't believe you two would keep straight faces knowing you murdered someone!" She felt nauseous and had a headache again, but she didn't care.

"Either way, just standing here isn't going to solve anything," Kyoko walked past everyone and got into the elevator first, and slowly everyone else filed in. The elevator was slower than usual and seemed to go down even deeper than the last three times, matching Aoi's stomach. They'd pay...they'd all pay for what they did! Sakura was trying to help them all get along and they treated her terribly and shoved her aside. It'd be what they deserved.

The court-room was decorated like an old-timey dojo with a rippling effect on the paint to resemble water, which made her swallow sickly. Monokuma already suspected something, didn't he? She headed to her usual podium and played with her earrings.

"Before we officially start, I just need to ask. Where am I supposed to keep Megumi-chan? I cannot possibly hold a baby on me for the whole trial," Kyoko addressed Monokuma, motioning to the baby in her arms.

"I know, I know, and I thought for that as well! After all, she's a member of the family and we don't want her to feel left out of the action, do we?" He pointed to a small pink cradle in front of his throne. "Place her in here and just know that if she starts fussing, one of you brats will have to tend to her!"

Kyoko nodded and gently tucked her in, walking away once she had fallen asleep.

"We shouldn't even be having this trial right now! It's obvious one of those three killed Sakura-chan because they hated her!" Aoi blurted out, pointing to Byakuya, Touko, and Yasuhiro in quick succession.

"I-I didn't do anything..." Touko grumbled.

"Me neither! You've got this all wrong!" Yasuhiro cried. "I'm being framed again!"

Byakuya just scoffed.

"You suspect them because they all were invited to meet with Oogami-san, right?" Makoto asked, and she nodded.

"Yes! And then they went and murdered her!" Aoi cried.

"I didn't even visit her!" Yasuhiro insisted.

"What about that paper you dropped on the ground? It was red with polka-dots," Makoto said.

"That's the same kind of candy I gave to Sakura-chan!" Aoi gasped. "There was only one box of it in the warehouse and I took it before anyone else could get to it!"

"She gave it to me a while back! It has nothing to do with this!" Yasuhiro said.

"You're a liar!" Aoi snapped back. The baby had woken up from the noise and began crying, making Kyoko hurry over and start gently rocking the cradle to calm her down. Aoi huffed when Yasuhiro finally admitted he saw Sakura, ignoring the cries. It was basically proof that he did the crime! He was the one who murdered her as payback for working with Monokuma and he was trying to lie about it! How dare he! One didn't have to actually lay their hands on the murder victim to have a hand in murder after all.

And Touko's last message! It was perfect! Everything was falling perfectly into place.

Kyoko kept gently patting Megumi's back as she tried to speak to Yasuhiro over her cries about the magazine. Eventually, she glanced at Aoi.

"Asahina-chan, I need to go back to my spot and help out. Can you please take care of Megumi-chan for me?"

"W-What?! I can't just stop in the middle of a trial!" Aoi declined in annoyance.

"You're just standing around accusing people!" Yasuhiro said.

"You're not vital to this trial anyway," Byakuya scoffed.

"Not vital?! A close friend of mine died!"

"Please." Kyoko stared her down. "You just need to rock her cradle to calm her down and give her a bottle if she's hungry,"

Aoi felt tears form in her eyes before she huffed and stormed off her podium, kneeling beside the cradle. Kyoko nodded and took her original position again and the trial resumed. She bit her lip and pouted, not wanting to cry again. Why did she have to watch over the child anyway? It wasn't hers.

"Come on, stop crying," She gingerly picked Megumi up and placed her on her shoulder, patting her back. Megumi simply continued to fuss.

"I-I killed Ogre! I admit it! She invited me to the rec room and I panicked! I thought she was trying to attack me so I hit her on the head with a bottle! She went down and I got outta there!" Yasuhiro cried.

"You admitted it!" Aoi huffed.

"Now, now, Aoi-chan, you're currently not on trial grounds, therefore you cannot participate!" Monokuma scolded. She pouted.

If Yasuhiro admitted it, that was just fine by her. They were wrong anyway and then they'd all get executed. It's what they deserved for pushing Sakura away and making her feel horrible and depressed and despairful.

"But he flat-out admitted it! We can execute him now!"

"I don't think he's done testifying yet," Kyoko said. Aoi pouted further and stared down at Megumi, still crying. She tried to remember what to do for babies that cried a lot but realized she couldn't remember Yuta crying all that much, if at all. He was a very happy and giggly baby. Didn't babies that cried a lot have colic or stomach problems?

She unzipped the diaper bag and anxiously searched through it, trying to find something to calm the baby down with. She shook the stuffed giraffe she found in a similar manner to Kyoko earlier, but it did nothing. She tossed it aside and tried a rattle, then tried to stick a pacifier in Megumi's mouth, but she spat it out as she continued to cry. It was enough to make Aoi herself want to cry and she covered her mouth to try and fight back the sudden onslaught of nausea.

 _Sakura-chan....why couldn't you be here with me? You were far better at this than me...you would've known what to do..._ She just held the baby close to her and bit her lip to prevent tears from forming again. She couldn't just cry at every little thing....even though they were the ones who upset Sakura enough to contemplate suicide...even though they were the ones who basically kicked her out of the trial for her best friend to shush a baby who won't stop crying!

"Why won't you just be quiet?!" She placed Megumi back in her cradle and stood up unsteadily, wobbling and covering her mouth again. "Everything's quieted down, so you can go to bed now!"

A bottle was suddenly tossed at her; she caught it and looked it over. A pink bottle covered in golden butterflies filled with milk made from formula. She stared uneasily at Monokuma, but he wasn't paying attention to her. Nor were the remainder of the class, still debating over the bottles in the rec room. She bit her lip and kneeled down again, carefully picking Megumi up and uneasily putting the nipple in her mouth, sighing in relief when she started sucking hungrily.

"Y-You...were...just...hungry.." She managed a broken laugh. Megumi kept drinking from the bottle until it was empty, a slightly-dazed look in her eyes as she started fussing quietly. "What now?" She tried to think back to when Yuta was finished being nursed and recalled him being burped. She placed Megumi on her shoulder and gave her a few pats until she spat-up. "Uhhhh...."

Aoi looked through the diaper bag and gently wiped Megumi's mouth off, sighing a bit and putting her back in the cradle. She could go rejoin the trial, right? She had comforted the baby like she was supposed to, right? Megumi stared at her with her shiny hazel eyes, making her stare back. Everytime she saw those eyes, she thought of...

Why did he have to die?! Why did any of them?! It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all! He deserved to be taking care of his child, not her!

It didn't matter. When her plan worked, they would all die for their selfishness and terrible treatment of Sakura. It's what they all deserved!

Megumi cooed curiously and pained Aoi's heart. If they all died, then what would happen to the baby? She wouldn't get killed too, would she? She trembled at the thought. Megumi cooed again and Aoi dug through the diaper bag, putting a pacifier in the baby's mouth before she slowly trudged back to her own podium, silently hoping Megumi would fall asleep and not start crying again.

The trial went on and on.....

"Perhaps the culprit mixed the bottles up and that's why the two were out of place in the chemistry lab," Byakuya suggested, making Aoi wince a bit.

"H-Huh?"

"That's how they convinced Oogami to ingest the poison, which was her real cause of death," Byakuya continued.

"Yeah, Ogre was always talking about how protein fixed everything, so after she got those two blows to her head, she asked for some protein!" Yasuhiro agreed.

"And I know who the culprit is too,"

"You're talking about the footprints left behind, right?" Makoto said.

"Indeed. The person who made those footprints is-"

"They're mine," Aoi finally admitted, looking down. "You're going to figure out who it is anyway, so...might as well just admit it. I was the one who killed Sakura-chan,"

"No way!" Yasuhiro gasped.

"It was obvious from the start, because the only person here wearing sneakers is you," Byakuya said. "The rest of us are wearing dressy shoes, or _zori_ in Hagakure's case," He briefly flicked his eyes over in that direction. "The footprints were caused by someone wearing sneakers, and furthermore, I bet if we put your foot up to them now, you'd match perfectly in size,"

She remained silent.

"W-Why? Why'd you kill her?" Makoto asked slowly.

"You took advantage of the fact you two were friends, didn't you? You went to give her some protein, saw the poison, and thought to yourself..'I could kill her right here,'" Byakuya smirked.

"If you are the culprit, then tell us. How did you construct that sealed room?" Kyoko asked levelly, staring at her. Aoi pouted a bit.

"W-Why does that matter? I'm the culprit you've been looking for, I don't need to go into detail about every single little thing that I've done! You have enough evidence as it is! I gave the protein to Sakura-chan and she drank it all down!" She insisted. How dare they keep trying to drag the trial on for longer than it needed to be!? Just accept her confession already!

And if they needed her to explain what exactly she did and how exactly she did it, then so be it! Byakuya already believed she was guilty. If he convinced the others, it didn't matter what Kyoko thought. Their lives were as good as forfeit at that point!

"First I went to Cabinet C to get the poison..." Aoi began.

"And that's when you spilled it?" Kyoko asked, and she nodded.

"Y-Yeah, I slipped and fell, and then I swapped the poison with the protein I got from Cabinet A, and then I left the room, leaving the stuff there, and that's how you figured it out,"

"So you walked directly from Cabinet C to Cabinet A?" Makoto asked, and she nodded. "But the footprints don't add up to that story...especially because earlier, you said you hadn't even realized you left footprints,"

Aoi's heart dropped. "H-Huh?!"

"So you've been lying to us?" Byakuya demanded.

"Judging by the map, you arrived after the powder had already been spilled, and whatever you did didn't involve going to Cabinet C," Kyoko smirked. "That's not the only part of your story you couldn't keep straight either,"

"I-I...you know..." Aoi found herself stammering.

"I have a new piece of evidence,"

"Where'd you happen to get that?" Byakuya asked instantly, turning to her.

"You gave it to me. It was at the bottom of the bottle of poison, a shard of glass. When you drank from it, the piece rose up to the top," She smiled more. "So I thank you for helping me figure this out,"

Aoi just widened her eyes, continuing to listen to them debate. She knew they were getting close to figuring it out, but...no! If she kept acting nervous and stammering, they'd figure out she was lying! It'd confirm it for them! That's what Leon, Mondo, and Celestia did when they were being suspected. They stammered and acted nervous. She couldn't let that be her undoing.

"The victim is also the culprit in this case...Oogami-san killed herself!" Makoto announced, making Aoi look over at him.

"N-No way! I'm the one that killed her! She didn't do it, I did!" She cried, feeling tears form in her eyes.

"She constructed the locked room to prevent anyone from interfering, I bet. And you were trying to throw the investigation off, weren't you?" Kyoko stared at her. "Like when you stood by the door when she was found dead. You already knew she was, didn't you?" Kyoko continued, and Aoi felt more tears form in her eyes.

"Y-You're wrong...y-you're all wrong! Sakura-chan didn't kill herself, I killed her! I'm the murderer and so I deserve to be executed!" She insisted, and even Makoto and Kyoko explaining the details of the crime scene did very little to sway her.

"No, you guys are all correct! Despite also being the victim, Oogami Sakura-chan killed herself!" Monokuma chimed in. "You guys win again,"

Kyoko hurried over to the cradle and scooped Megumi up, placing her in her little carrier on her back.

"Why, Asahina? Why'd you go to such lengths to cover this up? You would've been executed too," Byakuya demanded. Aoi rubbed at her eyes.

"T-That was the plan!" She admitted. "I-I wanted you all to die as payment for what you did to Sakura-chan! All of you deserved it! Even the baby! I wanted you all to burn!"

"My my my!" Genocide Jack cooed.

"No way! Why?!" Yasuhiro demanded.

Megumi sensed tension and loud noise and instantly woke up from her slumber, crying hard and Kyoko gently rubbed her back, pacing back and forth.

"Even Megumi-chan?!" Makoto said. "But why?"

"Why? B-Because, you all basically backed Sakura-chan into a corner! All she felt was despair and decided to end it! I found her suicide note outside the rec room, and look what it says," She pulled it out of her hoodie pocket and held it out for the others to read, and they all crowded around to do so. "Granted, there was evidence she wanted to do anyway, but..." She relayed what happened to her after they left the infirmary. "She was just a regular, fragile person, with weaknesses and emotions, and you all demonized her and accused her of things she didn't do! You all drove her into a corner and thus practically murdered her! You all didn't care about what she had to say! You all treated her like garbage!" Her tears streamed down faster, burning on her cheeks.

"So you wanted to destroy all of us?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah...I wanted to get revenge for her after she died hating you all...but you all saw through my lie..how can I ever face her now?"

"Geezh, this sob story is getting tired. Not everyone has to have one, you know," Monokuma mocked. "Besides, how can you _really_ know what Sakura-chan was thinking before she died? It's not like this is some kind of alternate fanfiction where everyone gets all their thoughts and motivations laid out in plain view for the audience to see and judge! But if it _was_...you think there'd be some sexy things in it?"

Aoi rubbed at her eyes, ignoring the majority of that comment. "Of course I know what she was thinking, I read that note didn't I?! Plus, Sakura-chan and I-"

"You only read a note and made an assumption based on that one thing. That's why I can say with full confidence that you're wrong," He pulled out another folded piece of paper out. "Because this is the real suicide note,"

Aoi gasped. "W-What?! But the one I have-"

"I wrote that one. I wanted to make things more interesting,"

"H-How could you?!"

"You were the ones who chose to see it that way,"

"What does her real note say, then?" Kyoko demanded, still holding Megumi.

"If you want to know so bad, how about _you_ read it? I don't have that kind of time in my schedule," He tossed the note at her and she caught it easily; Makoto took the baby from her. Kyoko started reading:

_My dear friend Asahina-chan,_

_There is something I have been needing to tell you. I do not want it to be in this manner, but I find I have little choice. I have a simple wish to ask of you. I must explain everything. As you are already aware, I was made the spy of the Mastermind and told of his plans. On the first night this all began, I was approached by him and was told my clan's dojo had been taken hostage. To some it may seem as a simple place of training, but it has been in my family for a hundred years. It is an important and sacred piece of history to my family and thus I could not let it fall with my generation, even if it cost me my life. However, that was exactly the price the Mastermind asked of me; not my life but someone else's. In a week, I was to do so if nobody took the bait. However, Maizono-san took it for me, as you all are aware. So, I was to remain waiting and watching for another chance to murder should everyone suddenly stop. As the days and weeks passed, however, I found my resolve starting to change. Asahina-chan, watching you and everyone else fight and struggle to survive regardless of the odds, and spending time with you specifically, made me realize I could not betray those whom I considered my friends, and most importantly, those who saw me as a friend. That is why I started to try and fight back,_

Even though it was Kyoko speaking, the class could still hear Sakura's distinct voice come out through the words.

"And yet everyone ended up hating her for it! Isn't that the best kind of irony there is?" Monokuma chimed in, snickering.

_Even though everyone dislikes me for it, I accept it as part of my weakness. I was willing to accept whatever hatred came my way, but I was foolish. I ended up creating an even bigger problem even my humility could not solve. Anger and dissociation and despair all resulted because of this, everyone was fighting with each other because of this, and I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. The Mastermind had intended for this to happen in the hopes a murder would occur, and I decided to honor his wishes. If he wishes for me to murder, than I shall murder myself. That is the only life I feel comfortable in taking. In doing so, not only will my hostages be set free, but I also extinguish the flame of tension that was inadvertently lit before it drives any of you to murder another. Every single one of you is precious to me. No matter what you all thought of me, I will forever consider you all to be my dearest friends, the first I ever had. Take care of the child as well; she needs comfort and care as much as any of us._

"S-So...Sakura-chan didn't die full of hatred and desperation...but the opposite?" Aoi heard herself say, covering her mouth.

"She didn't kill herself out of weakness, but rather strength. She wanted to protect the rest of us and knew that was the only way to do it. Such selflessness isn't found in a regular person," Kyoko nodded before continuing.

_If this action of mine prevents further killings from happening, then my job shall be done. Though I invite our classmates to talk with me while still intending to end my life, I still wish for them to see my side of things. I want them to believe we are all truly friends and allies here, not enemies. And as for you Asahina-chan, please finish what I start. I want you to survive and live on alongside your friends. That is my only wish for you. As I have said before, I am truly honored to have met you and have you as my best friend. You must live on,_

"That's it," Kyoko finished.

Aoi started crying again. "I-I can't believe it...I called Sakura-chan my friend when I had no idea how she truly felt...!"

"And to think, you were willing to kill everyone else over it! Even an innocent baby! Or maybe she would've just been left all alone! Think about that! Sakura-chan just died in vain because you all started fighting again!" Monokuma laughed.

"No! She reminded us we're not enemies destined to hate each other...we're friends, and we need to work together to defeat you!" Makoto shook his head. He continued to gently bounce Megumi, who had stopped crying as hard.

"Exactly. I choose to withdraw from this game because their actions have made everyone less afraid. And if there's no fear, there's no point in a game like this," Byakuya said. Kyoko smirked a bit.

"Can you truly say Oogami-chan died in vain now?" She folded up the letter and slipped it into her pants pocket, then took Megumi from Makoto and placed her in her carrier.

"Well, I guess that's enough of that. Let's get to the best part of the show!" Monokuma announced.

"B-But we already figured out who the culprit was! You're not going to kill one of us, are you?!" Yasuhiro cried.

"Of course not, that's against the rules. But that doesn't mean I can't have a bit of fun," He beckoned everyone over to the fenced-off execution area, where Alter-Ego's laptop was set out. Aoi widened her eyes. What were they going to do to him?! As she watched, a bulldozer drove up and smashed the laptop into pieces, crushing it until there was only small chunks remaining.

"No way! You just killed him!" Yasuhiro cried.

"It's almost like...watching _him_ die again..." Makoto said to himself.

Monokuma simply left them alone after that as he always did after executions, leaving them to mull over recent events. Aoi put a hand on her stomach, starting to feel nauseous. If it was getting close to the middle of the night, that made sense.

"H-How dare he! He was one of our friends!" Makoto suddenly yelled. "How could you just kill him like that?!"

"I'm pretty sure that's an indication Monokuma figured out what we were trying to do," Kyoko said, holding onto the straps of the carrier.

"I never not knew. Did you forget I can see everything you guys do?" Monokuma's voice came over the speakers. "I saw Chihiro-kun messing around on that laptop, and the fact you guys decrypted the data onto it,"

"You knew this whole time?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes. Consider it a gift. Of course I couldn't just let you guys try hacking into the school network. That's taking things too far,"

Megumi start fussing and Kyoko pulled a pacifier out of the diaper bag, giving it to her to calm her down.

"By the way, before I sign off for the night, I just wanted to tell you guys one more thing. You forgot to read the best part of Sakura-chan's suicide note!"

"What?! There's more?" Kyoko asked, looking shocked for once. Megumi sucked on the pacifier.

"Huh?" Aoi rubbed at her eyes in disbelief. Surely Monokuma was just lying, like last time. If there was more, Kyoko would've read it-

"Yup, I saved the best part for myself! But don't worry, I can read it all to you guys. So, here we go!

_Asahina-chan, there is one more thing I want to tell you and the remaining group. It is information I think should prove vital to your survival and future exploration. In my time working for the Mastermind, it has come to my attention he has done something to our bodies, something to-_

Monokuma quickly shut the system off at that, making everyone look around.

"He's just going to end it there?" Yasuhiro asked in disbelief.

"It's likely something we're meant to figure out for ourselves," Kyoko said.

"K-Kirigiri-chan, can I please...have...Sakura-chan's suicide letter?" Aoi asked slowly, holding her hand out for it. Kyoko nodded and subtly handed it to her, and she slipped it into her pocket. At least she still had that to remind her of Sakura.

What did Sakura mean by that; the Mastermind had done something to their bodies? What was done to them? She briefly put a hand on her stomach and looked over at Kyoko.

"A-Are you pregnant?!" She suddenly blurted out.

"What? No. I'm not," Kyoko frowned at her.

"W-What about Fukawa-"

"That gloomy bookworm ain't into the straight and narrow if ya catch my drift? That bein' said though if I got myself knocked up she wouldn't be too pleased," Genocide Jack said.

"You sincerely think that's what Oogami meant?" Byakuya asked, and Aoi blushed.

"It's a perfectly logical thing to think! After all, Celestia-san was pregnant!" She shot back.

"From some random encounter,"

"So, the trial's over and Monokuma's been silent for a while..what do we do now?" Yasuhiro asked, making Aoi look over at him. She covered her mouth as a sudden wave of nausea overtook her.

_Don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke-_

"We just go back upstairs like we always do," Byakuya said. "There's nothing else for us to do here,"

"I-I really am sorry..." She managed. Megumi looked at her with big hazel eyes, sucking on her pacifier. "For everything...I-I'll try to be better," If her plan had gone through, Monokuma was right. Megumi would've been left all alone, or killed alongside them. She couldn't just kill an innocent baby like that...

"The apologies of a peasant like you mean nothing to me,"

"Four-eyed creep," She blurted out without thinking.

"What?"

"You heard me! Do you even have any friends? You're so mean all of the time!" She pouted and walked out ahead of everyone else, feeling another wave of nausea and nearly gagging. She covered her mouth.

_Don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke don't-_

Aoi then dashed from the elevator, covering her mouth as she ran. Where was the bathroom on this floor? It wasn't nighttime yet so it wouldn't be locked yet, right? She ran over to the bathrooms and tried to push open the door with her elbow, sighing when she gagged and doubled-over, vomiting in front of the floor. "Oh no..." She took a step back and blushed heavily, feeling embarrassed. "I-I should at least clean this up,"

"You okay?" A familiar voice reached her, and Aoi looked up to see Yasuhiro. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"What do you want?"

"You ran off in a hurry and I was worried. I guess you're not feeling good, huh?"

"Of course I'm not, you know I'm not!" She shoved her way into the girls' bathroom, knowing he wouldn't follow her, and got some paper towels, placing them over the puddle and trying to scrub hard. Once she had exhausted through several sheets and the vomit was cleaned up, she hesitated and ran right back into the bathroom, running into a stall and puking some more. She coughed and flushed the toilet, coughing a few more times before she rinsed her mouth out in the sink.

When she walked back outside, Yasuhiro was still standing there, seemingly waiting for her as he awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

"Why don't you go back to your room?" She asked, feeling weak.

"Well...you still feel sick, and what kind of a person would I be if I just let you walk back to your room, only to fall and collapse? What if you have a near-death experience?!" He gasped.

"I'm not dying," She tried to walk off but he grabbed at her arm. "What?"

"That note Ogre wrote you...it's still on my mind too, you know? And she's right. And you're right too. Heck, you're my baby mama and I told Naegi-chi I'd take care of you and I haven't been doing the best job of that, now have I?" His features brightened. "I could walk you back to your room or get you ramen!"

Aoi stared at him for a while, shoving her hands into her pockets. "You have to help take care of the other baby too," She finally said, and Yasuhiro nodded.

"Of course! This marks the first day of me turning over a new leaf!"

The bell chimed to signal the start of nighttime, and Aoi walked slightly ahead, Yasuhiro still holding onto her arm. She had a sudden urge to lean into him for better balance but quickly shook the thought away. A faint trace of nausea remained but it wasn't enough to make her want to vomit.

The duo reached her bedroom and Yasuhiro let go of her. "And uh...if you need anything else, just let me know! Don't want you to go crazy like Celes-chi did!"

Aoi bit back a remark at that and just played with her earrings again. "O-Okay...I'll keep that in mind," She simply nodded and closed her door, locking it and getting ready for bed. She felt as though Celestia only went 'crazy' because of being locked-up, not just her pregnancy. And she gave birth anyway. She tucked herself deep into bed and slept, tossing and turning throughout most of the night. The cravings and nausea didn't keep her up for once; instead, it was a dream that was vivid and distant all at once, of her spinning around a gymnasium and accidentally running into Sakura. The two girls laughed about it, then Sayaka showed up and congratulated Aoi on something. When did that ever happen?

She slept for only a few hours that night, no longer dreaming.


	23. Interlude: Gossip Forum 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet again, everyone takes to their favourite gossip forum to discuss the latest round of episodes, though everyone is in agreement this week lacked the usual investment. But will next week be better?

_Sayuri Sazumi: Okay, I can't lie, this week's lineup was pretty lackluster. Everything seemed kinda rushed and the usual character development or revelations weren't there_

_Akiko: i dunno i found this one pretty shocking. a suicide? who knew_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Yeah, but still. I was in the hospital for a few days and was really looking forward to the distraction_

_WaffleLover: Oh goodness, what happened, if you don't mind sharing?_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Eh, nothing major. Some pricks got into a fight where I work and I was trying to walk past it but one of the guys noticed I recently got my hair cut, called me a slur, and threw a bottle at me_

_steponmeibukimioda: Yeck some people are pricks_

_Cupcake Emily: Um, I thought this week was really interesting. A few weeks ago we were all wondering what happened to Taeko-san's child and now we see Monokuma did save it; it's a girl and now the remaining students get to take care of her!_

_Peepz: That made me super happy. And Asahina-chan is pregnant too, and judging by the latest episode, it's Hagakure-kun's. Interesting turn of events_

_WaffleLover: I still wish it could've been Naegi-san's but maybe they can still get together after this is over. There's a chance!_

_steponmeibukimioda: Speaking of which wasn't that a secret Peepz found out for us a while back? That Asahina-chan was pregnant with his child?_

_Peepz: Yeah but at the time it was just a rumor, now it's confirmed_

_Akiko: also sorry to hear that happened to you sayuri sazumi. transphobia is still a very real issue despite everything that's happened_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Meh I'm kinda already over it. I got a new dress to make myself feel better and I look so good in it_

_hotnready: predictions_

_WaffleLover: Well I already said a while back that those who are left will continue to remain. We did lose Sakura-chan, but it was to suicide, not a murder. I still stand by the fact the remaining ones won't commit murder_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Sorry for being late, I see you guys are already talking predictions_

_hotnready: as for my own thoughts having taeko-san give birth and dump it on the survivors was genius. it'll give them more stress and tension in the coming weeks_

_Sayuri Sazumi: But people like Asahina-chan will still have that maternal desire regardless_

_steponmeibukimioda: Episode sixteen was pretty good where Kirigiri-san gave us that shower scene, where she was running her hands down her body and playing with her hair. Any guys watching definitely enjoyed that_

_Akiko: speaking of which do you guys think shes aware shes on tv? shes alluded to it a few times even as early on as episode three_

_Peepz: I also remember some of you guys were predicting Kirigiri-san to be the next one to go. Do you still think that?_

_Akiko: a bit i mean i still don't think the others trust her very much_

_~LoveAndKisses20~: Did nothing major happen this week? I feel like the topic is usually more active than this_

_Sayuri Sazumi: I was personally really bored this week. Have this picture:  
sweetheart.png _

_Cupcake Emily: Awww, Sayaka-chan with her group! Her smile is so big! Did I mention I have about three CDs from Sweet⭐️Parfait?_

_hotnready: i think most of us could figure that out_

_WaffleLover: I've seen this happen with other shows I watch and discuss online. At first there's a lot of excitement and talking, but after a few weeks there's a bit of a drop-off, but in the final few weeks it becomes super popular again. I guess that's what's happening here. Doesn't mean the show is bad or anything. I think a lot of shows just kinda have periods of lull near the middle_

_steponmeibukimioda: Except this isn't a regular show, it's watching famous people kill each other and reveal their darkest secrets and true faces live on television_

_Sayuri Sazumi: Sounds like most shows I watch honestly_

_hotnready: i also think these topics fell out of favour now that we have those separate topics made to discuss our favourites in more detail. this is mainly now used for discussing the episodes in general_

_Cupcake Emily: Oh then maybe the topic name should be changed?_

_WaffleLover: It seems fine to me_

_Tsuniki:_ **This topic has not yet approached 1,000 posts, so it shall remain open until the next round of episodes starts. Once they do, I shall lock this topic and open the next one for the new episode, which will be found here.**


	24. Chapter 5: You're All Just Trash to Me; Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone remains disillusioned after Sakura's trial, still unsure of how to properly work together. Kyoko and Makoto grow closer together, while Byakuya...is Byakuya. Not much changes. Still, everyone is slowly starting to get a better idea of the school's mysteries...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, I'm so sorry this took sooooooo long! Confession; I've actually had a majority of Chapter 5 written but despite this chapter having my second favourite THH trial in it and having some great ideas for Makoto and Kyoko, I just didn't feel motivated enough to actually post anything, but looking back I felt like you all had waited long enough, so without further ado....
> 
> ^*^ denotes a change in POV 
> 
> = denotes a change in the same person's POV

Byakuya woke up early and got ready, heading down to the cafeteria and finding several people there already. He assumed they had abandoned their previous schedules and tried to wake up around the same time as each other. They didn't do or say anything or even looked at him when he walked in; the only person he looked at was Kyoko, who had the basket on the table and was gently rocking it while Megumi's feet kicked around. Even Makoto had a duller look on his face, his eyes listless as he stared ahead at nothing. Touko sat at the end of the main table, nervously wringing her braids around. Aoi and Yasuhiro sat together, poring over some magazine Byakuya couldn't make out from the current angle. They all seemed sullen and depressed, finally broken down after weeks and weeks of their various supposed leaders all dying, one by one. They'd need a new leader, a better one, one that wasn't going to succumb easily to despair, and nobody was more suited for the job than him. Really, Byakuya was all-too-glad to step up and take it. Anything to keep them from running into walls. 

"Let's begin our post-trial observations today," He spoke out, making several people look up. 

"You're just going to jump right into it?! Not even a preface?" Yasuhiro asked in surprise. 

"If you want to work with me, you'll refrain from pointless chatter," He huffed. Kyoko was gently playing with Megumi's feet, making them clap against each other. 

"I'm amazed you can see us from high up you are," Aoi sighed. 

"Hey, it's just his way of showing us he cares!" Yasuhiro then playfully nudged Touko, who started to talk before she caught Byakuya's eye and silenced herself. "Come on, you're not going to be gloomy all day, are you?" 

"I told her she can't open her mouth without permission, so we don't talk aimlessly for hours," Byakuya said; he had done so after the trial the previous night once she switched back. He knew she'd do it because of her relentless obsession with him. 

"But if she can't open her mouth, she can't eat or drink!" Aoi gasped. 

"Not my problem," 

"You're so high up, how can you see us?" Yasuhiro said. Kyoko finished playing with the baby and looked up. 

"Even when we don't try, we talk aimlessly for hours," She pointed out. 

"I'm ending it. Let's start our look around the school," Byakuya said with finality, walking away. He heard the others shuffling behind him and walk off in different directions; though, if the fifth floor was particularly small like he had the sneaking suspicion that it was, it wouldn't be long at all before they all ran into each other again. He headed up that way, walking up the flights of stairs before he walked down a long hallway, stretching forward until he reached a large brown door, different from the other steel or double-doors on the floor. Throwing it open, he was hit with a sudden wave of decaying flesh and old blood, making him wince and clear his throat. "What the...?" 

He looked around some more, finding dried blood splattered on the floor and walls, pooled up in certain areas. He put his hand in one of the larger puddles and felt the cakey texture. The walls and chalkboard also had deep slashes in them, likely made by some kind of weapon. The desks and chairs were all knocked over and piled in different corners of the room almost like barricades. Makoto stepped in and paused, turning extremely pale. 

"It smells awful in here, doesn't it?" Byakuya tried to quip as Makoto stepped further in the room. His face looked sour. 

"What is that smell?" 

"I assumed someone as familiar with death as you could figure it out already," He scoffed. 

"Human flesh and blood..." Makoto ran his hand along one of the cuts in the wall gingerly. "But what does this mean? What happened here? Who did this? Do you think it was-" He cut himself off, but Byakuya could see the question in his eyes. 

_Did the Mastermind do this?_

Byakuya didn't think so. The Mastermind liked playing with them, always keeping their tricks out in the open for everyone to see. There was no way he'd kill a bunch of people where the class couldn't see. Besides, judging by the blood on the floor, this was from an event that happened a long time ago, so it likely wasn't even related to this game. Still, it was nonetheless fascinating. Hope's Peak had a bloodier history than he originally gave them credit for. 

Makoto left the room then, evidently done with investigating. Or maybe he was just going to toss his lunch somewhere. Byakuya wouldn't put that past him. He left the room himself, assuming the majority of the class had already finished looking around. He passed a dojo and spotted a flash of lavender, seeing Kyoko in there bouncing the baby. He scoffed. 

"Even now, you want to play Mommy? You have more serious issues than I anticipated,"

She gave him a hard look in return. Byakuya just scoffed again and left her alone, heading down to the cafeteria. He remained standing, but Touko arrived a few minutes later and sat down, trembling and rubbing at her arms. She looked over at him and Byakuya waited for her to disobey his command, but she eventually glanced away and continued tugging her sleeves down. 

Aoi and Yasuhiro walked in next, then Kyoko a few minutes later with the baby, and finally Makoto, making Byakuya stare them all down. "Everyone is here, I'm going to assume," 

"It's so depressing only having six here...." Yasuhiro sighed. 

"We have enough for a basketball team though! And maybe the baby counts as a seventh member!" Aoi gasped. "She could be like our little cheerleader!" 

"Let's get started on our reports," Byakuya cut in, not about to have everyone start discussing random things endlessly. He motioned to Aoi. "You first." 

"Right! I checked the steel plates on the fifth floor like Sakura-chan's always done, but no luck. They're all sealed shut tight...." She pouted. "And the fifth floor in general is weird. It doesn't have any stairs," 

"So the fifth floor is the highest-most floor," Kyoko surmised before smirking. "It seems we've explored the entire school," 

Byakuya felt a smirk forming on his own face. "Now all that's left is to solve the school's mysteries," 

"And we can do it if we work together!" Makoto announced, making Byakuya roll his eyes slightly. He was still on that whole 'we'll get out with teamwork' thing. Hadn't he learned by now it was a futile idea? Nobody would work together with him. Yet...the people that were left, if he was forced to work together with them...he supposed....they weren't....all terrible. 

"Oh, and...I found another picture," Makoto continued. "Monokuma took it from me, but it was of...Oogami-san, Enoshima-san, and Ishimaru-kun..." 

"You keep finding these...it's gotta mean something by now," Aoi sighed, shrugging. 

Megumi started crying loudly, making Byakuya scoff. He almost forgot about that accident. 

Kyoko walked over and gently picked her up, bouncing her softly. "I'm curious about what's in the biology lab though. It's the only place that's locked," 

"Maybe it's some kind of monster!" Yasuhiro suggested. "Like a final boss!" 

"No way, why would that be in there?" Aoi demanded. 

"It doesn't matter what's in there at the moment, and wasting time on it puts strain on your limited mental capabilities that are better used for other things that you need," Byakuya huffed. He sometimes wondered how those two especially managed to breathe sometimes. 

"Well, the way you worded it wasn't okay, but I do agree," 

"There was nothing wrong with the way I worded it," He glanced over at Kyoko, who was still bouncing the crying baby. "Can't you just give her a bottle? Surely formula can't be that hard to make?" 

"I'd like to see you try it," Kyoko gave him a smirk, which he decided to ignore. Sensing a lull in the conversation, he stood up. 

"I'm not sure how many of you explored the entire floor, but surely you all saw that mysterious classroom, right? No, mysterious isn't the right word," Already he felt a smirk forming on his face as he spoke about it. "The stench of blood and flesh, the human-shaped outlines, the older stench of every imaginable bodily fluid, far more gruesome than any of the murders we came across," 

"W-What?!" Yasuhiro cried. 

"I'm glad I didn't see it then..I feel sick just hearing about it," Aoi's cheeks turned green. 

"As if any of you are strangers to vomit. It seems as though ever since this game has started the majority of you have shown yourselves to have incredibly weak stomachs," It was pathetic how many of them wanted to show such a weakness so early on in the game, but who was he to judge? Everyone had a weakness to exploit and the weaker ones just caved in showing theirs first. 

"Anyway, what happened there?" Yasuhiro asked. 

"Obviously, a lot of people died in that room," 

"Oh God, I think I really _am_ going to be sick!" Aoi cried, covering up her mouth. 

"Do you think that's where The Tragedy occurred?" Kyoko asked, gently rubbing Megumi's back, who had finally stopped fussing. He looked over at her. 

"You and I are on the same page. The Tragedy that happened a few years ago...that must've been it. The age of everything matches up," He smirked a bit. "The Tragedy refers to the murder of many former students of this academy, which is why it was made to shut down," 

"That's terrible!" Aoi gasped. 

Simple words aside, something still nagged in the back of Byakuya's mind. If it was such a major event, why hadn't he heard about it? He could understand if none of the others had an inkling, it wasn't for them to worry about, but his family had access to criminal records not even the police knew about. So why hadn't this ever come up in any of them? His head suddenly pulsed and he adjusted his glasses to divert attention away from the shooting pain. 

"U-Uh, Togami-kun? I think Fukawa-san wants to say something," Makoto interrupted, making him scoff. 

"Why are you telling me?" 

"Because you're the one who said she couldn't speak!" Yasuhiro gasped. 

"I forgot about that," Why should he be bothered to remember? 

"That's almost criminally negligent!" 

"Anyway, if you want to foul up this room with your cancerous bad breath, be my guest," 

Touko still didn't say anything, looking away from him. 

"Well? I gave you permission, and we're all waiting," 

"What did you find?" Kyoko asked, gently placing Megumi back in her basket. 

"I-I found this in a classroom on the fifth floor," Touko stammered, holding out a knife. 

"Whoa, it's huge!" Aoi noticed. 

"I believe it's a survival knife," Byakuya commented, having seen similar things. Two of his siblings carried them in their respective royale. 

"Let's take it from her! It's dangerous in the hands of a murderer like her!" Yasuhiro shouted. 

"No way! Me and her are nothing alike!" Touko screeched. "I-I only picked it up b-because it's dangerous to leave it l-lying around l-like that!" 

"Speaking of which, who should we give it to?" Aoi questioned. 

"How about Naegi-kun?" Kyoko offered. 

"Yeah, give him the knife!" Yasuhiro agreed. 

"W-Wait, don't I get any say in this?!" Makoto held up his hands. 

"It means they trust you," Byakuya scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? Why else would they trust you with a knife," 

Touko slowly held out her hand and slipped the knife into Makoto's hands. 

"By the way, you made a decent discovery," Byakuya added, making Touko bite her nail. 

"R-Really? I-It's just a knife..." She huffed. 

"I thought you'd be more receptive of me praising you," He suddenly remembered earlier and stared at Kyoko, making her stare back. 

"What?" 

"Do you agree with me Fukawa made a decent discovery concerning the knife? It could be useful later," 

"Yes, it's interesting how a knife was just left lying around. I wonder how I never noticed it earlier..." Kyoko delved into her own mental analysis, but Byakuya had all he needed. Touko blushed suddenly and looked away, playing with her hair. 

"I-It was nothing...." 

"Anyway, I found a large botanical garden on the fifth floor with all kinds of weird stuff! Like a giant flower, and a coop full of chickens!" Yasuhiro said. 

"The chickens are live, actual chickens too," Makoto added. 

"Chickens! We could all raise them together and eat them grilled or baked! Or fried! Oh, let's just eat them raw! That'll be fun, right?" Aoi cheered. 

"Keep your food poisoning to yourself!" Yasuhiro declined. "What else...oh yeah, that weird shed!" 

"You were bothered by that pickaxe too, huh?" Makoto asked, making Byakuya look up. He hadn't remembered anything about that. 

"A pickaxe?" 

"Yeah, it had Crazy Diamond written on it...where have I heard that before?" 

"Oowada-kun had it written on his jacket," Kyoko announced. 

"Right! But...why is a pickaxe with those words written on it in the garden shed?" 

"Maybe Oowada-chi snuck in and wrote it himself!" Yasuhiro suggested, making Byakuya roll his eyes. 

"There's no possible way. We just gained access to the shed today." 

"Well, maybe Monokuma confiscated it from him!" Aoi said.

"Still, it bothers me..." 

"Actually, I wasn't even thinking about the pickaxe. I was actually thinking about the lawn mower I found. We could call for help using that!" Yasuhiro continued. 

"Hm? How?" Aoi tilted her head. 

"By using it to make crop circles!" 

"What?! You can't do that with a lawn mower!" She sighed. "You weren't like this when we first met..." 

"My character wasn't fully-developed yet!" 

"You depress me for real..." 

Byakuya stood up again, looking over everyone. "With that, everyone has made their reports. Since you are all my subordinates, I want one thing made clear. I do not want any more secrets being kept from me, from anyone, from here on out. Which means the biggest thing we need to clear up is Kirigiri Kyoko's identity," He shot a pointed glance at her, though she wasn't looking at him. 

"Isn't she...herself? I don't get what you mean," Aoi asked. 

"Exactly, but _who_ is she? We all have a reason why we were invited here. Our Ultimate talents, no matter what they may be. But what is hers? Does anyone actually know?" 

"No, she never told us," Yasuhiro confessed. 

"She doesn't like talking about herself," Aoi trailed off. 

"It's not a matter of what one likes or dislikes, it's a matter of trust. How can we trust someone who doesn't tell us anything about themselves, rather, deliberately hides that information away? You should start talking before we distrust you further," He started to glare at her. Kyoko was silent for a time before she stood up and started to head for the kitchen, but Byakuya reached his hand out and grabbed her wrist. "You aren't getting out of this," 

"I need-" 

"Tell us what we asked first," 

Kyoko stared at him before sighing. Even in his tight grip, her own was relaxed. "I can't tell you," 

"W-What?" Touko demanded. "Why not? Why won't you?!" 

"I never said I wouldn't, I said that I can't," 

"Why?" Makoto asked. 

"I don't remember. I have no memory of it," 

"Amnesia?!" Aoi asked. 

"You are not funny. I told you to tell me the truth, not unamusing jokes," He tightened his grip on her before letting go. 

"Y-You're serious?" Touko asked in disbelief. 

"I never said anything because I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I didn't say anything. Still, regardless of whether you believe me personally or not, the truth will come out," She sighed and looked at the basket. "Can I make a bottle for her?" 

"No." Byakuya stood to properly tower over her. "If you're going to keep your identity a secret until the bitter end, than so be it. Today is the day where I officially take control, which means things will no longer go your way any longer," 

"What are you going to do, torture me?" She asked smugly, even smirking. Why was she so intent on playing him like this? It reminded him of that classless wench Celestia, except Celestia was faking her confidence and smugness. Kyoko was genuine. Still, it wasn't enough to make him falter. 

"I would never stoop to something so savage. I just plan on limiting your movements to prevent you from partaking in any more suspicious activity," 

"Excuse me?" The smug look fell from her face entirely and she instead glared at him. 

"Give me your room key," 

"But then she won't be able to sleep!" Aoi protested. 

"Y-Yeah, and she still has the baby to take care of!" Makoto added. "If you're watching her twenty-four-seven, how will she get any of that work done?" 

"I'm sure she'll manage. If she hates it, all she needs to do is tell us about herself," Byakuya emphasized. Really, why did this have to be such a struggle? 

"But still! You're going to be inadvertently punishing an innocent-" 

"Fine." Kyoko cut through, a small smirk on her face. Byakuya matched it. 

"Oh, you finally decided to talk?" Finally, they were getting somewhere. He knew she would eventually cave under the pressure and threat of being monitored even more than she already was, everyone cracked under pressure like that eventually-

Something cold and metal was slipped into his hand, and he looked down to find Kyoko's purple key dangling there. 

"W-What?" He asked in disbelief. "Why are you so insistent on your silence?!" 

"Because I can't tell you anything, even if I wanted to. Why draw something like this out?" 

"So you're serious about your amnesia?" Aoi asked. 

"I mean, it makes sense. In a school like this where only bad things happen, it makes sense for one of us to have lost their memory!" Yasuhiro said. 

"Is this really a place where only bad things happen?" Kyoko asked, shaking her head. "I think I've said too much. Good night," She turned to leave, not even taking the basket or diaper bag with her. 

"And where do you think you're going?" Byakuya demanded, calling out to her. 

"I won't get in your way," She promised, closing the door loud enough to resonate through the whole silent cafeteria. The baby woke up and started crying and Makoto hurried over and gently rocked the basket to calm her down. 

"Don't you think you went a bit too far by taking her room key?" Aoi asked worriedly, but Touko giggled weirdly. 

"She's probably glad for it....she's probably glad she can freely walk around and t-touch herself in front of everyone, she seems like a-a major exhibitionist! A-And a masochist! Why e-else would she agree to giving away her room key?" Touko blushed. "I-I bet it gets her s-so wet-!" 

"Shut up." Byakuya snapped at her. Luckily, she did, looking away from him. He then looked at Megumi, who was still crying. "Can't you shut her up too?" 

"I-I'm trying!" Makoto insisted, still rocking the basket. "S-She's likely just been startled..." 

"Seriously...she's as noisy as her parents before her," 

The speakers loudly cackled to life, making the others jump in surprise and look around. 

"A-Another motive?!" Aoi asked in worry. 

"No, it's far too early for one," The Mastermind wouldn't hand out a motive so soon after a trial and execution. Everyone needed time to relax and plan, after all. 

"Which one of you took it?" Monokuma asked over the speaker system. "I know one of you took my precious treasure, some form of petty revenge I suppose. Teenagers today are so greedy, they just take whatever they want without thought for others. Here I thought I was being so good to you, but no!" They waited, but Monokuma didn't say anything else. 

"Does anyone know what he's talking about?" Aoi asked. 

"Kirigiri must've done something," Byakuya said with a tone of finality. Only she seemed to have the upper-hand against the Mastermind at all times, which is what made her so suspicious. "Who else would be able to steal from him?" 

The bell chimed signaling the end of the day, and Byakuya adjusted his glasses. "Furthermore, I sense tension in the air. Do not leave your rooms until morning," 

"That goes without saying..." Aoi sighed. 

"Everyone is dismissed. I'm going to my own room," Byakuya turned on his heel and left, hearing everyone else follow after him. He locked his own bedroom door and placed the key neatly on the dresser, getting ready for bed. A small part of him expected to wake up later that night to knocking and finding Kyoko on her knees, desperate and begging him to sleep in his room. He knew that wouldn't happen. Kyoko had too much pride about her, and he wondered smugly if that would end up being her downfall, much like what happened with Celestia. 

^*^

Makoto sighed slightly to himself as he was woken up by his doorbell. Who would even be visiting him at this hour? He quickly took a peek inside Megumi's crib and found her fast asleep. Hesitantly, he opened the door, stepping back when Kyoko all but pushed her way inside. 

"K-Kirigiri-san!" He quickly caught himself and whispered, thinking of Megumi. 

"Meet me in the dressing room," She whispered. "I'll be waiting," 

"W-Wait!" He tried to call after her, but she walked off without any sign she heard. He sighed and looked back at Megumi. If he moved her into her basket or carrier, she'd wake up and cry for sure, and likely would need soothing for many hours afterward. He really needed to invest in a baby monitor if these late-night escapades were going to be the norm. Still, it wasn't like he couldn't just ignore anything Kyoko told him to do. 

Silently praying Megumi would be okay on her own, he stepped out of the room and walked to the dressing room, finding Kyoko in there. 

"Sorry to keep you up. I know you have Megumi-chan, so I'll make it quick," She promised. 

"It's alright...I'm used to it at this point. Maybe in the morning I can see if the school store has any baby monitors," He tried to joke, but he could tell Kyoko wasn't in the mood for it that night. "Anyway...earlier Monokuma came on the speaker system and accused us of stealing something of his...I think you're the one that did it, huh?" 

"Yes." Kyoko said bluntly. 

"What was it?" 

"This," She held out her arm and slipped something from the jacket sleeve; a grey-silver key with Monokuma's head molded on top. "I took it from the Headmaster's office,"

"W-What?! But isn't it locked?!" He asked in disbelief. 

"The lock is broken. Oogami-chan must've done that as a final act of revenge...not towards us, but towards Monokuma. I realized it had been broken after our last Class Trial, but I couldn't have snuck in yet. So I used you as a decoy, got the key, and found a file on Ikusaba Mukuro," She explained, making him nod. "I think whoever they are, they have the potential to be the Mastermind. In any case, they're dangerous," 

"But didn't Alter-Ego say the Headmaster is the Mastermind?" He didn't think Alter-Ego would just lie about something like that, but maybe he was just confused?

"No, the Headmaster isn't. I have no proof, but I can say that with certainty," She smirked a bit. 

_To be so sure without proof...that wasn't like Kyoko at all._

"Regardless, we've gotten our hands on something big, and that's what truly matters. We can't let this opportunity pass us by," 

"Do you know what that key opens?" Makoto asked, dumbfounded when she smirked even more at him. 

"No, that's what I intend to find out. Which is why you need to distract Monokuma for me," 

"Okay, but distract him how? And besides, what if there's multiple Masterminds? It's very rare for us to actually see Monokuma, you know. He always talks to us using the speaker system," 

"I didn't get caught last night, did I?" 

"That could've been a coincidence," 

"Something tells me the Mastermind can't observe us and use the speakers at the same time. As in, they can watch whoever they're talking to at the moment, but not everyone at once. That's usually why when they do speak to us over the system, it's to all of us as a group," 

He nodded and listened as she explained it all. It did make sense, and there was some merit in testing it out, but the risk was way too great if they got caught. Even as she reassured him there was something to be gained regardless, he still wasn't sure. Still, there was a certain determination in her eyes, of a fire that wouldn't be quelled until she took down her enemy. She wasn't afraid or filled with sorrow. 

She was even smiling. 

"Here," She slipped a letter out of her pants pocket and handed it to him. 

"Huh?" The envelope was a simple white colour and thin. 

"A letter about me...don't open it here though. Only open and read it if something happens to me," 

"Y-You mean, if-" 

_"If something happens to me,"_ She affirmed, staring him down. He swallowed nervously and nodded, pocketing the letter. He hoped things wouldn't come to that, but he knew, somewhere deep down inside of him, that things could come to that. Something bad could very well happen to Kyoko, and she trusted him enough to continue investigating in her stead. "Also, don't tell anyone else about this, at least not yet," 

"You want less of a chance of the Mastermind finding out, right?" 

"That's one reason," 

He couldn't let something like that slide easily, but now wasn't the time to keep asking her questions. 

"You need me to distract Monokuma, right?" 

"Yes," 

"B-But how? It's awkward to just stand in the middle of the hall and yell aimlessly at a speaker system. I mean, I'm sure he can hear us, but-" 

"Then why don't we give him a subject to talk about?" She smirked and walked out, leaving Makoto to follow her curiously. 

"W-What are you going to do-?" 

"Stand behind me," She whispered an order, and Makoto nodded and quickly did so. "Put your hands on my chest." 

"W-What?! I can't-" 

"Do it, Naegi-kun." 

He swallowed and closed his eyes, reaching out his hands and grabbing the front of Kyoko's shirt. He felt around and squeezed harder, feeling two small swells. He slowly opened his eyes and ran his hands around. 

"W-Wow, your breasts are a lot smaller than I expected," He commented, partly for the illusion. "I guess this is what you wanted me to see, huh?" 

Kyoko bit her lip and leaned further into his touch. He squeezed them harder and ran his hands along her sides, not daring to even touch her hips. 

"Naegi-kun..." She took her hand and ran it along his face, bringing it closer to her own. He held his breath as their lips got closer, though never to the point of touching. He could feel her heart beating inbetween his hands and gave her breasts a final squeeze before letting go. Her face was blushy; fake because of how vibrant and red it was. Finally, she stepped away and hurried off. Makoto's hands were still in the shape of her breasts and he quickly shoved them into his pant pockets, trying to recompose himself. It was just a distraction to get Monokuma's attention....so why did it have so much of an effect on him? And why was Kyoko the one to even suggest such a distraction anyway? 

"Am I seeing things, or are you and Kirigiri-chan getting a lot more up close and personal?" Monokuma's voice rang through the hallways. "I thought for a moment I was going to have to remind you, I don't want erotic things in my hallways. That's what beds are for," 

"Ummmm.." 

"Besides, isn't one baby and another on the way enough?" 

Oh crap, he needed to check on Megumi! 

But first...

"Uh, I wanted to know...what was stolen from you?" 

"A key and something else. Something I can't tell you about, because it's important. Just telling you I'm missing my key is more than enough information," With that, the speakers went silent, and Makoto sighed. 

"I guess that's it....I hope Kirigiri-chan will be okay..." He shuffled back to his room, making a note to look for a baby monitor the next morning, checking on Megumi. She still was asleep, so Makoto fell asleep as well, waking up later on to the sounds of her crying and another doorbell chime. "W-Who's there...?" 

First he scooped up Megumi and felt that her diaper was wet, making him wince. He still had qualms about actually changing her, but he couldn't actually wake up any of the other girls and bother them about it...

He picked up the diaper bag and slowly opened the door, finding Kyoko standing there. 

"K-Kirigiri-!" 

"I thought you needed help with the baby. It was a good thing I heard her crying through the door," She stepped in and Makoto could tell from her tone she wasn't going to answer any questions he had, not with Monokuma being on such high alert. 

"T-Thank goodness...her diaper is wet," He laid her down on his bed on top of a towel from the bathroom. 

"You know you're going to need to change her sooner or later," 

"Yeah, but...it still feels weird," 

"She doesn't care, and I doubt her parents do either," She unzipped the diaper bag and held out a pastel blue diaper. "Just get it done with. I'm here," 

Makoto gingerly unsnapped Megumi's light pink diaper and unfolded it, removing it and placing it in a bag and safely tucking it away in the diaper bag to be cleaned later. As he fumbled around looking for the wipes, Megumi stopped crying suddenly and instead gazed up at him. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, going back over to her. She suddenly cooed and started peeing on the towel, making him gasp and desperately try to cover her up. "Oh no!" 

"All babies do that," Kyoko commented; he could sense the amusement in her voice. He simply sighed and got out a wipe, gently cleaning her once she was finished and giving her a pinch of baby powder before he snapped her into the clean and dry diaper, adjusting her dress. He tossed the towel away and put her back in her crib, where she fell asleep within seconds. "You're really good at this," 

"Well, I learned a little bit from watching my parents take care of Komaru, my little sister. And besides, once you get the hang of it...she's not a super hard baby to take care of," He blushed a bit. "We're all she has..." 

"Yes..." Kyoko seemed uncomfortable by that comment and simply left the room, leaving Makoto alone. He sighed and went to bed, wondering what was to come in the next few days.


End file.
